Klaus Bichler’s passion for collecting began when he was around ten years old. He collected matchboxes from his parents from Grandma’s house, from hotels and tobacconists, election gifts and soon from all over the world. His mother also asked work colleagues to bring boxes from vacation.
Bichler cannot say enough about how many boxes he has collected in total, but he estimates at least 2,000. Round, square, big, small – “I wasn’t picky,” says Bichler.
Part of the collection can now be seen in the Weinburg Village Museum. Custodian Andreas Buchinger selected over 100 of the boxes, sorted them according to subject areas and researched background information. Some come directly from Weinburg and the region; for example, they were distributed during election campaigns or as promotional gifts. Others have traveled far: “I collected boxes from Japan to Jordan to America,” says Bichler. Some boxes also contain erotic images. “It was a bit unpleasant to ask about it at the tobacconist,” the collector remembers.
Bichler is happy to have now found a good place for his boxes, because although he wanted to part with the collection, he didn’t want to sell them or set them on fire.
Museum curator Buchinger reports that the exhibition will be on view for about a year, until next fall. The next opportunity to visit the museum is on Saturday, December 2nd, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
