Many of the world’s great museums have an epic scope, concentrating on the great and truly important from the fields of art, science and history. But for every Louvre or Smithsonian, there’s always one bizarre labour of love devoted to something of such narrow general interest that it’s worth visiting purely out of curiosity…
Marzipan museum, Keszthely, Hungary
To the rest of the world, marzipan is only useful for making the ultra-sickly layer on a wedding cake, but try telling that to the Hungarians. Astonishingly, there are two museums devoted to marzipan in the country (the other being at Szentendre), and it appears as though there is much more that can be made out of the almond-based treat. Keszthely’s Marzipan Museum features staggering displays of sculpture, with shields, faces and miniature palaces all made out of… you guessed it.
Icelandic Phallological Museum
Ever wanted to see a polar bear’s penis? Or maybe a whale’s? Well in that case, head to Husavik in northern Iceland, as they’ve got loads of them. The museum has been set up to promote the science of phallology, which the curators believe is cruelly underrated in the modern world. To aid this noble research, they have gathered the members of just about every species that inhabits Iceland and its waters, putting them all on display. The Icelandic Phallological Museum now has over 150 specimens for those fascinated by Arctic appendages.
Musée du Papier Peint, Rixheim, France
Since 1797, the small municipality of Rixheim (near Mulhouse and the Swiss border) has been based on the manufacture of wallpaper. The craft still continues today and, to celebrate, there’s a museum that can tell you everything you could possibly wish to know about changing tastes in wallpaper over the centuries. Whilst this is undeniably exciting, the true purists will be delighted to hear that the machinery on which the wallpaper is made can also be gazed upon, while demonstrations take place at 3.30pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays during the hectic summer tourist season.
Muzeum Miniatur, Prague, Czech Republic
Consisting of little more than a room with a series of microscopes to look through, there can be few more impressively pointless museums than this celebration of the tiny in the Czech capital. In some respects, however, the art on display in the Muzeum Miniatur is far more of an achievement than anything displayed in the great galleries. Somehow Jesus has made his way onto a poppy seed and Beethoven onto an apple pip, while a train has been depicted on a single hair being passed through the eye of a needle. Quite why anyone would want to do such things is a different matter.
Meguro Parasitological Museum, Tokyo, Japan
While other museums would regard Egyptian sarcophagi or priceless artworks as their main highlight, this Tokyo’s major drawcard is a 10 metre tapeworm that was pulled out of some unfortunate soul in Yokohama. The Meguro Parasitological Museum is primarily a privately-funded medical research facility, but still finds space to exhibit over 300 specimens of parasites. The curators seem genuinely disappointed that their lovable little creatures have had to be preserved – apparently they couldn’t get away with displaying them inside a live animal or human.
This article was originally written for AOL UK.
Copyright David Whitley
