Merinos Textile Industry Museum

The woollen factory called Merinos at Bursa was a state-funded project to advance industry in Turkey. It was opened by President Atatürk in person in 1938. The plan was to use fine-quality fleeces of merino sheep imported from Australia. Bursa is now the fourth largest city in Turkey. The museum opened in 2011 in the restored factory. The displays follow the processes all the way from raw wool to carding, spinning of yarn, dyeing, weaving, finishing and final garments. Hundreds of original artefacts have been brought together in four exhibition halls – textile machinery, office equipment, wool samples, photographs, documents, posters and oral history. As a modern, scientifically managed factory, one of the preserved sections is the laboratory for testing fibres, yarns and fabrics. The museum also has a section on silk manufacturing, which has a very long history in Bursa. The displays follow the process from the silkworm to the final fabric.