The building of the Bernard snuff factory is located in the middle of Regensburg’s old town. Today, some rooms of the renovated building are used as a museum.
I find a museum that only deals with the subject of snuff quite unusual. We visited the small museum briefly during a research trip and were able to gain a little insight.
What is snuff and where does it come from?
Around 1496, a Spanish monk who was in America with Columbus reported for the first time about tobacco and its intoxicating effect. With one of the well-known discoverers, the tobacco plant also arrived in Europe. Jean Nicot first introduced the plant to the population as a medicinal product.
The triumph of snuff in Europe finally began at the court of the Medici. Soon the French nobility, and later also the common people of France, enjoyed the effects of the plant.
Snuff is a finely ground mixture of different types of tobacco.
The mixture is sucked in through the nose so that the nicotine can develop its effect in the front nasal mucous membranes. It is important that the tobacco is sucked in very slowly, otherwise it can cause severe pain.
If the snuff is used over a longer period of time, a habituation effect will occur and the user will notice the effect less strongly.
History of snuff in Regensburg
The Bernard company produced snuff in Regensburg. It has been a successful producer of snuff for over 280 years.
Johann Nikolaus Bernard founded the company in Offenbach am Main in 1733. In return, the Isenburg sovereign had promised him the privilege to bear the title “Fürstlich Isenburgische privilegierte Schnupftabakfabrik”. The products made from high-quality French tobacco quickly became well-known.
In 1812, Jakob Phillipp Barnard and Peter d’Orville acquired the building of the Regensburg snuff factory. The plan was to set up a branch office and thus circumvent customs problems in Bavaria.
Production has been at a standstill here since 1998.
One of the company’s most popular products is the “Schmalzler”. It is still being produced.
What can you see at the snuff factory in Regensburg?
Today, the renovated building houses a small museum.
In three original rooms, the visitor is shown a lot about the origin and processing of tobacco. In the “alchemist’s kitchen”, for example, the mixtures of some well-known types of snuff were created.
When we enter this room, the first thing I notice is the smell. It seems as if tobacco is still being processed here today, so unchanged is the smell of the plant in the room.
In each of the rooms I discover equipment I’ve never heard of and learn about its production.
I find this very exciting, also in light of the fact that apparently snuff is still popular in some areas in Germany today.
Address:
Gesandtenstraße 3/5,
93047 Regensburg
Guided tours
Access only with a guided tour.
every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 2.30 p.m.
Admission fees
Adults: 5 €
Tickets are sold at Café Anna (Gesandtenstraße 5).
The visit to the snuff factory was part of the research trip to Regensburg. The report on this was written independently of our visit.
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