Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen

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Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen
Harbour, Friedrichshafen (1X7A9734).jpg
Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen
Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen
Established1996
Location Friedrichshafen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Architect HG Merz
Website https://www.zeppelin-museum.de/en
Rear view of the Zeppelin Museum. The glass wall and twin elevated walkways are later additions to the Hafenbahnhof. Zeppelinmuseum Seite.jpg
Rear view of the Zeppelin Museum. The glass wall and twin elevated walkways are later additions to the Hafenbahnhof.
Structure of the partial Hindenburg replica. LZ129-replica-structure WL.jpg
Structure of the partial Hindenburg replica.

The Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen is a museum in Friedrichshafen in Germany, the birthplace of the Zeppelin airship. The museum houses the largest collection on airship travel in the world, and chronicles the history of the Zeppelin airships. In addition, it is the only museum in Germany that combines technology and art. The museum has been in its current location at the Hafenbahnhof (harbour railway station) since it was reopened in 1996. The exhibition was designed by HG Merz. [1]

Contents

Museum concept

In keeping with the museum concept of "Technology and Art", visitors can see for themselves how closely these two areas are related. The work of art Zeppelin Swarms by Héctor Zamora illustrates this particularly well. The focus is on man and his position in the interplay between technology, nature, and faith. The art collection also includes works by those identified as degenerate artists by Nazi Germany, such as Otto Dix. [2]

Technology collection

The centerpiece of the zeppelin displays is a full-scale, partial model of the airship LZ 129 Hindenburg. The exhibition also includes an original engine nacelle of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin airship and a Maybach Zeppelin car. A great number of airship models, not only from Germany, are also on display in the technology department. [3]

LZ 129 Hindenburg

Recreated Cabin Lounge of Zeppelin Hindenburg in the Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen, Seestrasse 22, Friedrichshafen, Germany. Cabin lounge - Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen - DSC06790.jpg
Recreated Cabin Lounge of Zeppelin Hindenburg in the Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen, Seestraße 22, Friedrichshafen, Germany.

As said above, the centerpiece of the Zeppelin airship display is the full-scale, partial replica of the LZ 129 Hindenburg, which was reproduced true to the original and authentically furnished. It is 33 m in length, large enough to convey an idea of the enormous dimensions of the original airship.

The Hindenburg was 245 m long and had a maximum diameter of 41.2 m. It was propelled by four Daimler Benz diesel engines with a capacity of 772.3 kW (1050 hp) each, and reached a maximum speed of about 130 km/h.

After the impressive overview of the partial model from the outside, the folded-down retractable aluminium stepladder invites visitors to go on board. It leads into the lower deck, the B-deck, which has a bar, a smokers’ lounge, and toilets. The passenger cabins are arranged on two decks, stacked one on top of the other. In the cabins, visitors can experience the special inside ambience of a 1930s airship and get to know the technical aspects of this aircraft.

The beds inside the cabins are made of aluminium. Every cabin has a wall-hung wash basin (with running hot and cold water from a tap), a curtained wardrobe niche, a folding table, a stool, and a ladder for climbing into the upper bunk. The cabins also have electrical lighting and are ventilated and heated. [4]

The Hindenburg travelled 18 times to North and South America. On 6 May 1937, while landing in Lakehurst, New Jersey, the airship burst into flames just before touch-down and crashed. [5]

Engine nacelle of the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin

The nacelle was built in 1928 by the Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH for the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin (Count Zeppelin). The propulsion system of this airship consisted of five nacelles fixed to the hull. Every nacelle contained a Maybach engine, type VL 2, which drove a propeller at the nacelle’s tail. A mechanic was stationed at each engine at all times.

The nacelles had aluminium skeletons, the bottom halves of which were clad with aluminium sheeting and the tops with cotton cloth. A hatch, fitted with a connecting ladder to the main body of the airship, enabled the mechanics to climb in or out of the nacelles when their shifts changed. [6]

Maybach Zeppelin

This Maybach Zeppelin was built in 1938 in Friedrichshafen. The car weighs 3.6 tons and can achieve a maximum speed of 170 km/h. Its engine has twelve cylinders with a total stroke volume of 8 litres and a capacity of 147 kW (200 hp). The engineering design for this car was based on the Maybach engines for the airships LZ 126 (1924) and LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin (1928). [7]

Media room

The media room presents 3D historic photographs of zeppelins. In addition, historical footage can be played. [8]

Zeppelin Cabinet of Curiosities

The cabinet hosts many small pieces of zeppelin history: coins, porcelain, postal documents, tin toys, and Zeppelin bibelot of all kinds. Numerous exhibits are presented in large display cases. Additional background information can be found on iPads showing 3D models of the exhibits. [9]

Uplift, Propulsion, Aerodynamics – Giants in Motion

This wing of the museum is specially designed for children and young-at-hearts. Numerous experiments, original exhibits, and touchable replicas invite visitors to interact with the displays and try them out on their own. [10]

Art collection

Einlaufen des Raddampfers 'Kronprinz' in den Hafen von Friedrichshafen, by Franz Seraph Stirnbrand, circa 1840. Exhibit in the Art Collection of the Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen, Seestrasse 22, Friedrichshafen, Germany. Kronprinz by Franz Seraph Stirbrand, c 1840 - Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen - DSC06887.JPG
Einlaufen des Raddampfers ‘Kronprinz’ in den Hafen von Friedrichshafen, by Franz Seraph Stirnbrand, circa 1840. Exhibit in the Art Collection of the Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen, Seestraße 22, Friedrichshafen, Germany.

In the art collection, the connection between art and the subject of Zeppelins is established. The present collection was started in 1948, as the old museum had been completely destroyed by bombs during World War II. Of particular importance are works of art by artists who went into Inner Emigration at the time of the Third Reich and retired to the Lake Constance region like Otto Dix, Max Ackermann, Willi Baumeister, Erich Heckel, Julius Bissier, and others. [11]

Héctor Zamora's Sciame de dirigibili Zeppelin Swarms

The first of the art exhibits to be encountered in the museum, these little Zeppelins are part of the art work Zeppelin Swarms by Héctor Zamora (1974, Mexico City, Mexico) which defines the connection between the technology and the art departments.

His project, first shown at the 53rd Venice Biennale, stimulates the viewer's imagination. The visitors become witnesses to an event in Venice that actually never happened, an invasion of Venice by a large number of Zeppelins. For this purpose, Zamora shows the Zeppelin swarm in different art genres: post cards, drawings, paintings by venetian street artists, advertisement in the press, and an animated video which was spread on the internet. While actual swarm of zeppelins over Venice did not take place, the photographs are very realistic.

The only real and visible element that actually appeared in the cityscape of Venice was an airship, which was shown stuck between two houses. Now, its deflated hull covers the floor of the major exhibition space. [9] [12]

Man and Technology – Man and Nature

The section Man and Technology demonstrates the high level of creativity and innovation that humans are capable of when it comes to technology and art. The focus is on man and his position in the interplay between technology, nature, and faith.

In the section man and nature , it is shown that the relation between humans and nature is an emotional, aesthetic, and religious connection, which changed over the centuries. The term "natural landscape" developed because of the industrialization and its impact on nature and landscape. [10]

Archive and library

The Zeppelin Collection and LZ Archives form a competency center on the history of German airship building, whilst the art department carries out research in the field of Lake Constance regional art and crafts. [13]

LZ archive

The corporate archive of the Zeppelin airship-building limited company in Friedrichshafen fills a depot of the Zeppelin Museum. The archive stores documents on every business transaction of the company, from the very beginnings through the 1960s. It also includes Count Zeppelin’s correspondence from the time he conceived his airship-building project. In addition, the archives contain the estates of important personages of Zeppelin history such as Hugo Eckener, Hans von Schiller, and Wilhelm Ernst Dörr. Collections of construction drawings, posters, prints, newspaper cuttings, photographs, films, etc., complete the archive collections. [14]

Library

The library holds and collects publications on the subjects of the museum’s two departments. The bulk of the collection is composed of books and journals on the history and technology of regional, national, and international aviation; and on Zeppelin development; as well as biographies of the personages and the stories of the companies involved in these fields. The library collects a great number and variety of art books and journals. The library is an open-shelf, non-lending library which means that the books and journals are freely accessible on shelves in the reading room, but may only be read there. [15]

Museum shop

The museum shop offers books, watches and jewellery, model construction kits, calendars, collectible items, DVDs, and other items. Beside zeppelin souvenirs, all available publications on the collection themes and catalogues of the exhibits can also be acquired. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeppelin</span> Rigid airship type

A Zeppelin is a type of rigid airship named after the German inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin who pioneered rigid airship development at the beginning of the 20th century. Zeppelin's notions were first formulated in 1874 and developed in detail in 1893. They were patented in Germany in 1895 and in the United States in 1899. After the outstanding success of the Zeppelin design, the word zeppelin came to be commonly used to refer to all forms of rigid airships. Zeppelins were first flown commercially in 1910 by Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-AG (DELAG), the world's first airline in revenue service. By mid-1914, DELAG had carried over 10,000 fare-paying passengers on over 1,500 flights. During World War I, the German military made extensive use of Zeppelins as bombers and as scouts. Numerous bombing raids on Britain resulted in over 500 deaths.

LZ 129 <i>Hindenburg</i> German airship in service 1936–1937

LZ 129 Hindenburg was a German commercial passenger-carrying rigid airship, the lead ship of the Hindenburg class, the longest class of flying machine and the largest airship by envelope volume. It was designed and built by the Zeppelin Company on the shores of Lake Constance in Friedrichshafen, Germany, and was operated by the German Zeppelin Airline Company. It was named after Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg, who was President of Germany from 1925 until his death in 1934.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Friedrichshafen</span> Town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Friedrichshafen is a city on the northern shoreline of Lake Constance in Southern Germany, near the borders of both Switzerland and Austria. It is the district capital (Kreisstadt) of the Bodensee district in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg. Friedrichshafen has a population of about 58,000.

USS <i>Los Angeles</i> (ZR-3) United States naval airship

USS Los Angeles was a rigid airship, designated ZR-3, which was built in 1923–1924 by the Zeppelin company in Friedrichshafen, Germany, as war reparations. She was delivered to the United States Navy in October 1924 and after being used mainly for experimental work, particularly in the development of the American parasite fighter program, was decommissioned in 1932.

LZ 127 <i>Graf Zeppelin</i> German Zeppelin (rigid airship)

LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin was a German passenger-carrying hydrogen-filled rigid airship that flew from 1928 to 1937. It offered the first commercial transatlantic passenger flight service. The ship was named after the German airship pioneer Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a count in the German nobility. It was conceived and operated by Hugo Eckener, the chairman of Luftschiffbau Zeppelin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeppelin NT</span> Class of airship

The Zeppelin NT is a class of helium-filled airships being manufactured since the 1990s by the German company Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik GmbH (ZLT) in Friedrichshafen. The initial model is the N07. The company considers itself the successor of the companies founded by Ferdinand von Zeppelin which constructed and operated the very successful Zeppelin airships in the first third of the 20th century. There are, however, a number of notable differences between the Zeppelin NT and original Zeppelins as well as between the Zeppelin NT and usual non-rigid airships known as blimps. The Zeppelin NT is classified as a semi-rigid airship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MTU Friedrichshafen</span> Commercial internal combustion engine manufacturer

MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH is a German manufacturer of commercial internal combustion engines founded by Wilhelm Maybach and his son Karl Maybach in 1909. Wilhelm Maybach was the technical director of Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (DMG), a predecessor company of the German multinational automotive corporation Daimler AG, until he left in 1907. On 23 March 1909, he founded the new company, Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH, with his son Karl Maybach as director. A few years later the company was renamed to Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH, which originally developed and manufactured diesel and petrol engines for Zeppelins, and then railcars. The Maybach Mb.IVa was used in aircraft and airships of World War I.

LZ 130 <i>Graf Zeppelin</i>

The Graf Zeppelin was the last of the German rigid airships built by Zeppelin Luftschiffbau during the period between the World Wars, the second and final ship of the Hindenburg class, and the second zeppelin to carry the name "Graf Zeppelin" and thus often referred to as Graf Zeppelin II. Due to the United States refusal to export helium to Germany, the Graf Zeppelin II was inflated with hydrogen and therefore never carried commercial passengers. It made 30 flights over 11 months in 1938–39, many being propaganda publicity flights; but staff of the Reich Air Ministry were aboard to conduct radio surveillance and measurements. The airship, along with its LZ 127 namesake were both scrapped in April 1940, and their duralumin framework salvaged to build aircraft for the Luftwaffe.

Luftschiffbau Zeppelin GmbH is a German aircraft manufacturing company. It is perhaps best known for its leading role in the design and manufacture of rigid airships, commonly referred to as Zeppelins due to the company's prominence. The name 'Luftschiffbau' is a German word meaning building of airships.

<i>Hindenburg</i>-class airship Type of aircraft

The two Hindenburg-class airships were hydrogen-filled, passenger-carrying rigid airships built in Germany in the 1930s and named in honor of Paul von Hindenburg. They were the last such aircraft to be constructed, and in terms of their length, height, and volume, the largest aircraft ever built. During the 1930s, airships like the Hindenburg class were widely considered the future of air travel, and the lead ship of the class, LZ 129 Hindenburg, established a regular transatlantic service. The airship's destruction in a highly publicized accident was the end of these expectations. The second ship, LZ 130 Graf Zeppelin, was never operated on a regular passenger service, and was scrapped in 1940 along with its namesake predecessor, the LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin, by order of Hermann Göring.

The static buoyancy of airships in flight is not constant. It is therefore necessary to control the altitude of an airship by controlling its buoyancy: buoyancy compensation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daimler-Benz DB 602</span> 1930s German piston airship engine

The Daimler-Benz DB 602, originally known as Daimler-Benz LOF.6, was a German diesel cycle aero engine designed and built in the early 1930s. It was a liquid-cooled upright V16, and powered the two Hindenburg-class airships. It has roughly the same displacement and weight of the Beardmore Tornado, which was used in the ill-fated R101, but has almost twice the power of the Tornado, showing Daimler-Benz's superior knowledge regarding diesel engine construction.

LZ 10 <i>Schwaben</i> Type of aircraft

LZ 10 Schwaben was a German rigid airship built by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin in 1911 and operated by DELAG for passenger service. It is regarded as the first commercially successful passenger-carrying aircraft.

Zeppelin <i>LZ 54</i> Type of aircraft

Zeppelin LZ 54, given the military tactical designation L 19, was a Zeppelin of the Imperial German Navy. While returning from her first bombing raid on the United Kingdom in early 1916, she came down in the North Sea. Its crew survived the crash, but drowned after the crew of a British fishing vessel refused to rescue them; at the time this was a widely reported and notorious incident.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei</span> German airline

Deutsche Zeppelin-Reederei, abbreviated DZR, is a German limited-liability company that operates commercial passenger zeppelin flights. The current incarnation of the DZR was founded in 2001 and is based in Friedrichshafen. It is a subsidiary of Zeppelin Luftschifftechnik and operates Zeppelin NT "Next Generation" airships. By 2009 the DZR had transported over 55,000 passengers. As of 2012 the DZR flies a schedule of 12 tour routes between March and November in Southern Germany. The company also operates flights to other selected cities as well as charter flights.

Zeppelin LZ 120 <i>Bodensee</i> Type of aircraft

LZ 120 Bodensee was a passenger-carrying airship built by Zeppelin Luftschiffbau in 1919 to operate a passenger service between Berlin and Friedrichshafen. It was later handed over to the Italian Navy as war reparations in place of airships that had been sabotaged by their crews and renamed Esperia. A sister-ship, LZ 121 Nordstern, was built in 1920: it was handed over to France and renamed Méditerranée.

Zeppelin L 30

Zeppelin "L 30" was the first R-class "Super Zeppelin" of the German Empire. It was the most successful airship of the First World War with 31 reconnaissance flights and 10 bombing runs carrying a total of 23,305 kg of bombs, with the first ones targeting England, and the four final raids targeting Livonia and Ösel (Saaremaa). At the time of its construction, It was the world's largest Zeppelin, and with its 6 engines, "L 30" could reach speeds higher than 100 km/h, making it the fastest Zeppelin in the world as well.

Zeppelin LZ 121 <i>Nordstern</i>

The LZ 121 was a civilian airship from the Weimar Republic, a Y-Class zeppelin with a total length of 130.8 metres. It received the nickname Nordstern while in German service, before it was given to France as war reparations on 13 June 1921. In France she was renamed the Méditerranée and operated as a civilian air transport for a year. She was transferred to the French Navy and served in the Mediterranean for four years. She was decommissioned and broken up in August 1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zeppelin LZ 17</span> Type of aircraft

LZ 17 Sachsen was the fourth Type H improved Schwaben-class Zeppelin that first flew on 3 May 1913 and operated as a passenger airship with DELAG until WWI, when it was commandeered for service with the Imperial German Army. After being transferred to the Imperial German Navy, LZ17 was dismantled in 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maybach VL II</span> 1920s German airship engine

The Maybach VL II was a type of internal combustion engine built by the German company Maybach in the late 1920s and 1930s. It was an uprated development of the successful Maybach VL I, and like the VL I, was a 60° V-12 engine.

References

  1. Zeppelin Museum / The Museum Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de. Retrieved on 2014-04-25.
  2. Press release Zeppelin Museum Friedrichshafen GmbH
  3. Zeppelin Museum / The Museum / The Collections / Technology Collection Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de. Retrieved on 2014-04-25.
  4. Zimmermann, Karl."Hindenburg partial replica is highlight of Zeppelin Museum in Germany" Los Angeles Times, January 20, 2014. http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/24/travel/la-tr-hindenberg-20140126
  5. Zeppelin Museum / The Museum / The Collections / Technology Collection / Reproduction LZ 129 "Hindenburg" Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de (1937-05-06). Retrieved on 2014-04-25.
  6. Zeppelin Museum / The Museum / The Collections / Technology Collection / Engine nacelle of the LZ 127 ‘Count Zeppelin’ Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de. Retrieved on 2014-04-25.
  7. Zeppelin Museum / The Museum / The Collections / Technology Collection / Maybach Zeppelin Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de. Retrieved on 2014-04-25.
  8. own translation Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de. Retrieved on 2014-04-25.
  9. 1 2 own translation Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de. Retrieved on 2014-04-25.
  10. 1 2 own translation Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de. Retrieved on 2014-04-25.
  11. Zeppelin Museum / The Museum / The Collections / Art Collection Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de. Retrieved on 2014-04-25.
  12. Zeller, Ursula. "Hector Zamora's Zeppelin Swarms" 2011. http://universes-in-universe.org/eng/magazine/articles/2011/hector_zamora
  13. Research Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de. Retrieved on 2014-04-25.
  14. Zeppelin Museum / Research / LZ Archive Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de. Retrieved on 2014-04-25.
  15. Zeppelin Museum / Research / Library Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de. Retrieved on 2014-04-25.
  16. Zeppelin Museum / Visitor Information / MuseumsShop Archived April 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine . Zeppelin-museum.de. Retrieved on 2014-04-25.

47°39′2.02″N9°28′58.91″E / 47.6505611°N 9.4830306°E / 47.6505611; 9.4830306