Magdeburg Technical Museum

If there is one feature which unites the exhibits in the Magdeburg Technical Museum, it is pioneering spirit. This is immediately obvious in the threshing equipment manufactured by the Magdeburg company, Zimmermann, around 1900, which was discovered in a barn in Glindenberg. Its owner was utterly committed to the idea of progress and was only too ready to pay the considerable costs involved in the purchase, amounting to several thousand Reich marks. The start of the machine age in the region was marked by a so-called Locomobile in 1862, made by the Wolf works in the Magdeburg suburb of Buckau. A huge steam hammer, in turn, bears the date 1891. Until 1989 it stood in the hot forge at the Ernst Thälmann (SKET) heavy equipment combine.

 

The exhibition hall itself was also a part of SKET. Until 1993 it was still an industrial site and contributed greatly to Magdeburg's reputation as an engineering construction centre. Before that the site was home to a large armaments factory, which made the city a target for Allied air raids during the Second World War. As early as 1871 Hermann Gruson had established a casting works for railway equipment and munitions here. It was later taken over by the Krupp company. In this way the site of the Museum alone - it opened in 1995 – reflects the industrial traditions of the city.

 

The exhibition is notable for its huge range of exhibits. The collections comprise handicraft exhibits alongside agricultural, transportation and industrial objects. Transmission-drive workshops like a shoemaker’s shop stand opposite products made with the help of lathes and milling machines, and mass-produced cutlery. In other areas visitors can find out how a lift bridge functions, or on what principles a linotype machine in a traditional printing shop works. A separate section of the museum is devoted entirely to the pioneering aviator, Hans Grade who, in Magdeburg, was the first person to undertake an engine powered flight in Germany in 1908. In addition, there are working demonstrations of a large number of engines and other equipment. This makes the insights into the multifaceted world of work undertaken by past generations into a particularly lively experience.

Magdeburg Technical Museum
Dodendorfer Straße 65
39112 Magdeburg
Germany
+49 (0) 392 - 6223906
Homepage

Recommended duration of visit:1 Hours
Admission:Charge
Access for persons with disabilities:Available
Infrastructure for children:
Gift and book shop on site:yes

April to October:
Tuesday - Sunday 10am-5pm
November to March:
Tueday - Sunday 10am-4pm 

  • Guided tours optional
  • Guided tours for children