MUSEUM OF MUSIC AUTOMATONS – SEEWEN
Britannic Organ and Orchestrons near Basel
The 100 year anniversary of the tragic sinking of the mighty Titanic giant ocean liner drew much attention. Lesser known is that Titanic had two sister ships built for the White Star Line. The HMHS Britannic completed in the Belfast drydock shortly after the more famous ship (see Titanic Experience Belfast and Titanic Dock) was actually slightly larger, wider in the beam by a few feet, but after the notorious sinking of the “practically unsinkable” ship, the last and largest of the three ships never saw passenger service. Instead, with the outbreak of World War I in 1914, she was fitted out as a hospital ship. The Britannic also sank, in 1916, off the coast of Greece, hit by a torpedo or striking a mine, a casualty of war. But it wasn’t until 2007 that a remarkable remaining legacy of the lost ships survived - in Switzerland.
The “Britannic” Welte Philharmonie, organ the size of a room was intended to serenade the passengers of a luxury ocean liner for dancing in the main salon, apparently removed or not installed during the war service refit was discovered in the collection of Dr. h. c. Heinrich Weiss-Stauffacher, with the Britannic markings found during a restoration. The Britannic organ built during the height of the recorded music roll in the early teens of the 20th Century is the center piece of the Museum of Music Automatons (Museum für Musikautomaten) in the mountains of the Solothurn region just north of Basel, the area known as the Schwarzbubenland, neighbor to Germany’s Black Forest.
Switzerland took a leading part in the development of mechanical music between 1770 and 1920 with cylinder and disc music boxes from the Jura region (see Watchmaking Museum Chaux-de-Fonds) and musical jewelry and snuff boxes from Geneva (see Patek Philippe Museum). The museum founded in 1979, now in a very modern building of cream stone set in the wooded hills, comprises three spaces arranged thematically to offer a look into the world of musical automatons, mechanical organs, orchestrons and self-playing keyboard instruments. The collection features many examples from the M. Welte & Söhne organ manufacturer from Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, which made the Britannic Organ, and an extensive variety of music rolls. During the tour of the museum, music from the instruments demonstrates the sound and engineering magic of the craft.
Visiting the Music Automaton Museum Seewen
Museum opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday 11am to 6 pm. Permanent and temporary exhibitions are by guided tour only, lasting about one hour. The permanent exhibition 12;20 pm and 2:40 pm. The Temporary Exhibition 1:20pm and 4pm. Admission price is 15 CHF Adults, 12 CHF Concession, Pensioners and Students over 16, 6 CHF Children 6-16. Children under 6 are free. The museum is also free with a Swiss Rail or Museum Pass. The museum has a restaurant “Drehorgel” for lunch or tea, and the museum shop offers a selection of musical souvenirs, CDs and postcards. Reaching the museum by public transportation takes close to an hour from Basel. Take SBB rail to Liestal or to Dornach Arlsheim, then PostBus 67 to the Musikautomaton stop in front of the museum. © Bargain
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Musik Automaten
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