Magic Museum Bellachini

One part of the museum

... with viistors

Fames Goethe Magic Set

Museum and Magic Salon

Zaubermuseum Bellachini is the first cultural history museum in Germany to document the history of the origin and development of the art of magic. It was opened on 18 December 2022 by well known magician and collector Wittus Witt and presents the historical and cultural significance of the art of magic, beginning in the 18th century up to our present day.

History

Since the early 1980s, Wittus Witt has curated exhibitions on the history of magic in museums and other public institutions. These include the Munich City Museum, Koblenz State Museum and the Museon Museum, The Hague, Netherlands.

The museum

On 18 December 2022, the Wittus Witt opened the first German magic museum in the St. Georg district of Hamburg under the name Bellachini. On around 100 square metres, divided into three rooms, there are around 200 exhibits from the field of magic in showcases and on the walls. In addition, films on the subject of magic are shown on monitors and a video screen.

The name-giver

The museum was named after the most famous conjurer of the 19th century, Samuel Berlach, Bellachini.

The collection

From the Wittus Witt collection, the museum presents magic books from the 18th century, graphics from the 19th century, magic posters from the early 19th century and magic boxes from 1840 onwards. With his collection of old magic boxes, Wittus Witt has been in the Guinnes Book of Records several times.

At the opening, the museum showed three extraordinary On loan

• Goethe's magic box, from the Goethe Museum in Düsseldorf
• Painting: a sleight of hand, oldest depiction in oil from 1460, Edition Volker Huber
• Travel and prop case of Theodor von Schledorn-Bellachini, Südsauerlandmuseum, Museum for Art and Cultural History of the Olpe District in Attendor

Literature

• Magic Museum, exhibition catalogue, with greetings by Karin Beier, Udo Lindenberg, Natascha Würzbach and Andrea Baioni, 88 pages, ISBN 978-3-947289-75-2
• The Bellachini Dynasty, in: ABC der Taschenspieler-Kunst, Volume 10, Winter 2022
• The Catalogue:

Sponsoring association Museum Bellachini e. V. zu Hamburg

On 19 February 2023, the "Trägerverein Museum Bellachini e. V. zu Hamburg" was founded, which was recognised as a non-profit association by the tax office on 4 April 2023.

Weblinks

• Homepage of the museum

References

• Magische Welt, 71st year, issue 5, 2022, page 204
• Magie, Journal of the Magischer Zirkel von Deutschland, 102nd volume, 2022, issue 12, page 551.
• Genii, February 2023
• Ye Olde Magic Mag, Vol. 9, isse 2, March 2023