Customs Museum

This small customs museum, which is unique in south-west Germany, commemorates the eventful history of the Saarland border region with numerous interesting exhibits. The customs museum was initiated and is run by the Mandelbach-Habkirchen local history association, whose members guide visitors through the museum on a voluntary basis.

The Blies forms the border between Germany and France in Habkirchen. But unlike usual, the border does not run through the centre of the river. Instead, the Blies lies entirely on French territory. The Imperial Countess Marianne von der Leyen from Blieskastel laid down this arrangement in a treaty with the French King Louis XVI in 1781. This peculiar agreement was not revoked at the Congress of Vienna and therefore still applies today. This is also confirmed by the boundary stone from 1826, which stands on the German side of the bridge.

Until the French Revolution, High Count Ley customs officials worked at the customs station. After the territories on the left bank of the Rhine were ceded to France in the Treaty of Luneville in 1801, the customs station also disappeared. After Napoleon's defeat, the Palatinate became part of Bavaria in 1816. An original Bavarian border sign from this period can be seen in the Customs Museum. Another exhibit in the museum also dates from this period: a copy of the French passport of Karl Marx, who entered Germany via the Habkirchen customs post on 7 April 1848.

Another interesting story is that of customs inspector Maximilian Weizenberg. Legend has it that he was an illegitimate offspring of the Bavarian aristocracy. A daguerreotype of him from the pioneering days of photography can be seen in the Customs Museum.

After the Franco-Prussian War, Alsace-Lorraine was incorporated into the German Reich and the customs station in Habkirchen was closed on 31 December 1871. Border controls were not revived even after the First World War, as the Saar region had meanwhile been incorporated into the French economic area. It was only after the referendum and the associated return of the Saar region to the German Reich that the customs service was resumed by the Reich customs administration from 1935 until the occupation of France in 1940.

The Second World War brought great hardship and destruction to the population in the border region. In 1939, the 200-year-old bridge between Habkirchen and Frauenberg was blown up by French troops. Ninety per cent of both villages were destroyed by the end of the war in 1945.

On 1 November 1947, Saarland was economically annexed to France. However, with the rejection of the Saar Statute in 1955, the state was returned to Germany in 1959, meaning that the customs officers were needed again until 1993. Today, only the customs museum, which was extended in April 2011, reminds us that there was once a customs station here.

Today, life-size mannequins with original uniforms illustrate the demeanour and respectable status of the customs officers on both sides. Numerous other exhibits, photos and documents show everyday life in the border region. The Customs Museum also provides an insight into the work of customs today, such as the fight against counterfeit products, drug trafficking, smuggling, illegal labour and the minimum wage.

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