Museum of harmonicas

The impressing collection of historic and modern harmonicas shows the variety of that type of musical instrument.
The museum of Zwota shows more than 1,000 musical instruments which might be interesting to ordinary persons, to the branch of music‘s experts and to scientists, similarly.
The exhibits consist of numerous mouth organs, diatonic accordions, concertinas of the 19th century, musical instruments of the famous company „Arnold" from the city of Carlsfeld, located in the Ore Mountains, as well as of different types of accordions, like the most popular models of the former accordion companies in Klingenthal.
Many musical instruments have been produced in the area. They can be considered as being contemporary witnesses of the economic development of Klingenthal and its surrounding areas.
In 1956, the development of electronic and electro-mechanic keyboard instruments and amplifiers began, two years later, the first of these kinds of musical instruments have been produced in the area of the Vogtland. A large assortment from the first organ of the brand „Ionika" to the digital keyboard, as well as electro-mechanical musical instruments can be seen in the exhibition.
In the year 1829, the dealer of musical instruments, Mr. Johann Wilhelm Glier, brought along a mouth organ from a business trip. His father‘s factory copied that musical instrument and that moment can be considered as the starting shot of the production of accordions in the area around Klingenthal. In the 1950s, the production of hand stop instruments was added. Numerous mouth organs and accordions of the brands „Royal Standard", „Barcarole", „Horch", „Weltmeister", „Galotta" and „Hutschelli" left the factories of Klingenthal and Zwota and had been exported into many foreign countries. The different types of musical instruments are evidence of the producer‘s creativity and their manual know-how. Just visit our exhibition!