A visit to the German Textile Museum needs to be well planned. If you happen to pass by the market square in Linn, you might find yourself standing in front of a closed door. This is because the museum does not have a permanent exhibition. Light and dust would do too much damage to the fine robes, baroque garments and delicate silk embroidery, changing their colors and making their fibers brittle. Nevertheless, some of the precious textiles, some of which are more than 2,000 years old, are regularly taken out of the archive to present them to visitors in themed exhibitions such as "German Couture", "Costume or Fashion" or liturgical textiles. A special library on the subject of textiles is also open to the public.
The beginnings of the internationally important collection date back to the 19th century. Krefeld, the "Silk City", was then the seat of the Royal Prussian Trade School, for which a so-called model collection was set up as early as 1880. It served students of the Higher Weaving School as illustrative material and a source of inspiration for their own fabrics and designs. But it soon became more than that, as the collection of small samples was expanded to include historical clothing. Today, 30,000 textiles - from late antique tunics and gauzy christening gowns to sinfully expensive evening wear for the ladies of the world - are carefully stored in the archive of the German Textile Museum and cared for by the museum's own textile restorers. They are no longer worn. Even if many a visitor to the exhibition would like to try on one or two of the chic pieces.
