Munich's Hunting and Fishing Museum

Statue of a wild boar outside the entrance of the German Hunting and Fishing Museum in Munich

If you walk along the Neuhauserstrasse from the Karlsplatz to the Marienplatz in Munich, you pass a large statue of a wild boar, usually with one or two people sitting on it. Close by is a bronze statue of a catfish. These statues frame the entrance of the German Hunting and Fishing Museum (Deutsches Jagd und Fischerei Museum).

I couldn't tell you how often I have passed by this museum, but it wasn't until this year that I actually went in and looked around. My nephew Dan and I had spent many hours in the Deutsches Museum, the science and technology museum that is one of Munich's most enduring attractions. After lunch, we had just enough time to go over to Neuhauserstrasse to look at the Hunting and Fishing Museum. Germany has a great hunting and fishing tradition, and the museum is devoted to the activities and equipment of hunting and fishing, the animals and fishes that are or were hunted, and a number of artworks devoted to hunting and fishing.

If you are into taxidermy, you'll love this museum, because every animal, bird or fish that lives in Germany is there. Some of the exhibits are pretty old, but they're still very impressive. On the landing of the second floor, there is an enormous skeleton of a prehistoric elk. It just towers over you when you look at it. This is in addition to all the bears, deer, wolves, foxes, badgers, rabbits, and any other animal you can think of, including quite a number of wild boars. The Hunting and Fishing Museum can be described as quite rich in stuffed wild boars, including the one whose snout is just peeking out between two of the rows of cases of stuffed birds. If you want proof that Germans have a sense of humor, the positioning of this boar will do it.

There is a huge collection of hunting weapons, from spears and crossbows to rifles and shotguns, and all the paraphernalia that goes with them. Some of them are beautifully engraved and decorated. You can certainly see that the German nobility loved hunting. There are also many examples of boats and fishing equipment, including bone fish hooks that go back to the Stone Age. In addition to the animals and weapons, there are exhibits of hunting clothes and accessories.

This may all sound a little strange, but if you're tired of touring churches and art museums and you like history, this may be for you. Dan and I enjoyed it very much.