Zurich Toy Museum, Switzerland
Looking through the glass, into the cabinets, you can start to get a sense of the joy that once existed. Sedentary now, orphaned, these toys are merely relics. Like a car without a key, or a torch without a battery, they are not complete without their owners. It’s the love of a child that brings these objects to life. A museum is a fitting place for these toys to end up because now they are simply reminders of what once was.
That’s not to say that the collection can’t still bring joy… but it’s fleeting and detached. For many visitors to the Zurich Toy Museum, there’s a connection with particular items – and a connection to a shared history. But it’s a nostalgic reminder, not a reconciliation. Toys are for boys. Toys are for girls. Warm memories are for adults.
The Zurich Toy Museum, like many a box of old playthings, is tucked out of sight – in a non-descript building in one of the more historic parts of the city, up an elevator to the fifth floor. Once inside, sense of place is lost, though, as you enter the world of the toys.
The ultimate toy collection
There are more than a thousand items in the collection – most of them antique. The toys date as far back as the eighteenth century and include trains and dolls, and soldiers. They’re made of wood, of metal, of paper. Some move on their own, some are moved by children, others were made just to be looked at. Most are from Europe but there are some from Asia, the United States and even Australia. Generations of children are traced through the evolution of the toys here. Yet one thing connects them all – imagination.
Two women – elderly in comparison to the usual owners of toys yet sprightly enough without relativity – are working at the museum the afternoon I visit. There is no entry fee, so they’re not here to collect that. They’re here to answer questions and share their knowledge (and love) of the collection. Some of the items were originally theirs, or from their family, while others have been donated or bought from all across the world.
As I look through the glass, into the cabinets, one of the women hovers behind me. She occasionally offers a bit of information about the items I’m looking at. I feel like she is waiting for questions, so I ask her about the oldest, the best, the favourite – any superlative I can think of. She beckons me after each query and leads me to different display cases and different eras of toys. Despite the huge number of toys in the collection, she knows where everything is and what each of them represents.
The museum is a plaything for the people who work here. It is their dollhouse. And for half an hour, or an hour, or however long is needed, they invite us in to remember what it was like to find inspiration in our imagination.
* You can head to the official website for more information about the Zurich Toy Museum.
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Turtle, like the name suggests, likes to take things slowly. Luckily that's one of the best ways to see the world - and that's exactly what he's doing at the moment.
This is the website of travel writer, Michael Turtle. After working in broadcast journalism for a decade in Australia, Michael left Sydney to travel the world indefinitely and write about the places, people and experiences he discovers. This isn't a diary - these are real stories from the world.
18 Responses
That looks like a fun place to work, although having a lot of toys behind glass cabinets does seem like a sad place for them to be. They need to be played with, poor things!
Laurence recently posted..Sunset explosion
That was my thinking too! I wanted to play with them all and make the trains crash. Perhaps it’s because of people like me they have to be behind glass…
So lovingly written! Though the staring-straight-ahead dolls still freak me out and I can’t help but imagine that the whole place comes alive at night when the ladies leave like an unfunny version of Night at the Museum. Then again, my toys growing up were horses so what the heck do I know?
Karen @ Trans-Americas Journey recently posted..Not So Scary – San Salvador, El Salvador
Why is the idea of the toys coming alive at night so scary? Don’t get me wrong – it is… but it would be so much nicer if it turned into a twilight playground!
I’ve visited the dolls’ museum in L’Isle sur Sorgue in France and dolls were so creepy, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they had followed me..
Angela recently posted..Photo essay: Lebanon’s ancient ruins, evoking memories from past lives
I would have thought movies like Toy Story would have made the idea of toys coming alive less scary than everyone seems to think it is.
Looks like another cool museum to visit in Switzerland, can’t help thinking it would be torture for most kids, big and small just dying to get hands on those toys and play!
I know! It would be even better if there was a little area where you could play with some of them. Perhaps even leave the kids there for a couple of hours while you explored the city!
I’d be interested to see if the toys were different because they were European, they all have a fairly traditional look to them.
Ayngelina recently posted..Food Friday: Maui Onion Festival
I certainly didn’t see an xbox there, if that’s what you’re thinking
Wait, I thought the Island of Misfit Toys was where they went to live on without us? Thanks for ruining my childhood, Michael!!
On a more serious note, the dolls in that first pic are freakin’ CREEPY!
Bret @ Green Global Travel recently posted..DOMINICA Photo Gallery 2- Kalinago Territory & Cassava Bread Bakery
Very creepy! I’m surprised more kids here in Europe didn’t grow up to be freaks, if this was their childhood!!
Man I wish my parents had kept all my toys. Love finding old lego sets and then hours later I realise I have been reliving my youth. Love it.
Cole @ Four Jandals recently posted..Live Blogging from Tuscany – #fjTUSCANY
The great thing about Lego is that it is timeless. I think some of these toys have had their day, though.
It is probably because of too many horror movies, but really to me toys like that without kids around to play with them, control them, placate them, it is creepy. Ok, there are some great movies about toys coming to life for good, not evil, but still the eyes of the dolls are odd.
I like the plane though. Are there more modern toys too? Like a room for Star Wars figures and models?
Andrew recently posted..Ios, Greece – Walk with Photos
There weren’t really many modern toys. The planes were probably the most recent. Maybe over time they’ll add some Star Wars figures and the like, as examples of the recent generation.
Wow! very nice toys! The kids will be more happy when they see all this amazing toys!
It’s like a playground for kids and adults (albeit behind glass…)