The Bernadette and Josef Maier Foundation @museum.de

Bernadette Maier had taken an early interest in the tinkerers’ workshop where her husband had trained. During visits, the idea of preserving the workshop and opening it to the public gradually evolved.

On the 31st of May 2003, Bernadette Maier established a foundation in Frickingen called the "Josef-Maier-Stiftung". Its purpose was to provide long-term, consistent support for the museum. She provided a considerable additional sum to cover the museum’s annual operating costs and its ongoing development.

Expanding the foundation’s remit was entirely in accordance with Bernadette Maier's wishes. So the foundation was transformed from dependent to legally independent and its assets transferred to the new "Bernadette and Josef Maier Foundation".

The new foundation’s remit is: to promote museums, tourism and cultural heritage; to support child and youth welfare, pupils and the elderly, international understanding, education and vocational training. So the foundation has been given an important role in Frickingen’s cultural life.

During regular visits to Lake Constance with her husband, Bernadette Maier got to know and love his home country. The foundation she established has developed a special ability to bring people together.

In his book "Josef Maier – Erfinder – Unternehmer – Mensch", author Albert Mayer describes the life and work of the Frickingen apprentice who, as a prisoner of war in France, made his fortune as an inventor and businessman. This 2019 biography, published in German and French, is available (for a contribution towards costs) at the Tinkerers’ Workshop Museum and at Frickingen town hall.