The Gutenberg Museum stands in the old part of Mainz, Germany, across from the cathedral. It was founded in 1900, 500 years after Johannes Gutenberg's birth, to honor him and his printing achievements. Publishers, printing machine manufacturers and printing houses donated the books and equipment that formed the first collection.
It began in two rooms of the Electoral Palace. In 1927 it moved into Zum Römischen Kaiser, a building of 1664. That building was heavily bombed in 1945, and restoration was completed in 1962. A modern exhibition building also opened in 1962, and the old building was restored and extended in 2000.
The collection includes a reconstruction of Gutenberg's workshop, installed in 1925, and a replica of his printing press. The museum owns two Gutenberg Bibles and about 100,000 bookplates.
Comments