Gutenberg-Museum

The Gutenberg Museum, World Museum of Printing Art, in the Gutenberg city of Mainz is one of the oldest printing and writing museums in the world. Its main attractions are many editions of the Gutenberg Bible, the oldest book that was printed with movable type and the temporary exhibition on typography and book design. The Gutenberg Museum is located opposite the Cathedral in the Old Town. Since 2010, Dr. Annette Ludwig is director.

History

Citizens of the city founded the museum in 1900 to mark the 500th birthday of Johann Gutenberg, to make its inventions and works of art known to a wide audience. Furthermore, should be issued written and printed documents as many different cultures. The opening of the museum took place on 23 June 1901.

The basis of the collection consists of publishers, printing press manufacturers and printers donated books and machines. In its first years, the museum was part of the city library, so that the most beautiful and important pieces of the large library could be exhibited in the museum. Visitors were able to get an overview over 500 years book printing. Over time, the museum has collected exhibits in the fields of printing technology, Typography, Print, paper, history of writing in different cultures, etc.

The museum was originally located in two rooms in the Electoral Palace Mainz, which was also home to the Mainz city library. The museum moved in 1912 to the new library building in the Rhine Ave. In 1925, people were thinking about a spatial separation of the museum and the city library.

In the same year one of the biggest attractions of the museum has been installed: a reconstruction of the workshop of Johannes Gutenberg. In 1926, a copy of the 42-line Gutenberg Bible was purchased. The following year, the museum moved into premises of the house to the Roman emperor, one of the most beautiful buildings in the city. Five years later, in 1932, the museum took over the whole house. During the Second World War the building was destroyed by Allied bombing raids, but the exhibits could be saved for the most part.

In 1962 the restoration of the building was completed and opened in the built under the architect Rainer Schell construction. In addition, the collection Blanckertz was purchased. The museum ensemble now houses the collection, the museum administration, the Gutenberg Society, a Restaurierabteilung and a specialized library.

1978 years later, they purchased in New York with the two-volume Gutenberg Bible today the most valuable exhibit of the museum.

The museum was founded in 2000 after the plans of Karlsruhe offices rossmann partner architects including a second extension after two years of construction completely renovated.

Nationwide attention were the typography exhibitions On Type text to typography (2011), Moving Types (2011) and call for Type (2012 ) with catalogs by Niggli Verlag.