Gutenberg Museum, Mainz, Germany

The Gutenberg Museum is one of the oldest museums of printing in the world, located opposite the cathedral in the old part of Mainz. It is named after Johannes Gutenberg, the inventor of printing from movable metal type in Western Europe.

Among the biggest treasures of the collection are two original Gutenberg Bibles printed around 1450. Another highlight is the recreated workshop of Gutenberg where skilled printers demonstrate how books were printed in the 15th century. A short film introduces visitors to the life and work of the inventor of the modern printing press.

At the Gutenberg Museum, you will see printing presses from all eras, learn about printing techniques used in Europe and elsewhere, and find out how books were produced in the past. The museum also explores the history of paper and writing. Additionally, it features a special area dedicated to the history of print media. The collection of the Gutenberg Library includes job prints, bookplates, and print graphics as well as posters, fine editions, and art books (by appointment only).

Temporary exhibitions focus on the history of book production, modern print graphics or typography, spanning from Gutenberg's time to the 21st century.

References:

Mainz Tourism

User Reviews

B. S. (2 years ago)
An interesting museum on the history of printing and books. Admission is only 5 euros

1 2 (2 years ago)
This museum presents the development of printing technology around the world from a very objective and neutral perspective. The museum has a collection of Gutenberg's earliest printed works and printing machines of various periods. In addition, the organizer also provided a live demonstration of printing technology, as well as a short film of Gutenberg's life in German or English.

Pasan Sensouk (2 years ago)
It's a must visited museum in Mainz, you will learn something new from this place for sure. There are lots of exhibitions, demonstration about the letterpress informative, it's just informative!

Red Lemonade (2 years ago)
A fun and informative approach to history for everyone. You get to see the original Gutenberg bible and old printing systems. We received an audio tour with headphones and a little digital player as you walked around. At the end there was a screen printing activity which was fun.

Argin Abnousian (2 years ago)
For all the people who are enthusiastic about printing, books and history... You MUST visit this amazing museum

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Christian Lauw

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche

The Pilgrimage Church of Wies (Wieskirche) is an oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s by Dominikus Zimmermann. It is located in the foothills of the Alps in the municipality of Steingaden.

The sanctuary of Wies is a pilgrimage church extraordinarily well-preserved in the beautiful setting of an Alpine valley, and is a perfect masterpiece of Rococo art and creative genius, as well as an exceptional testimony to a civilization that has disappeared.

The hamlet of Wies, in 1738, is said to have been the setting of a miracle in which tears were seen on a simple wooden figure of Christ mounted on a column that was no longer venerated by the Premonstratensian monks of the Abbey. A wooden chapel constructed in the fields housed the miraculous statue for some time. However, pilgrims from Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and even Italy became so numerous that the Abbot of the Premonstratensians of Steingaden decided to construct a splendid sanctuary.

Gutenberg Museum

Address

Details

More Information

Rating

Interesting Sites Nearby

User Reviews

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Historic Site of the week

Wieskirche