History of the Museum - Deutsches Museum

The museum was founded by Oskar von Miller and based on a completely new concept. He wanted to create an international museum that would represent all areas of science and technology.

Exhibition closed

The second half of the museum is currently being renovated, which is why this area has been closed since July 2022. The modernisation of the exhibition is scheduled to be completed in 2028, the 125th anniversary of the museum's founding.

The Museum of Science and Technology Masterpieces

With a commitment to vividly communicating the role of science and technology, the Deutsches Museum would become a pioneer in promoting the modern “Public Understanding of Science”.

“Here’s what I would like to achieve, (...) to have people streaming into the museum like they do to the stalls at the Oktoberfest.”

Oskar von Miller, 1905

The exhibition makes it clear that the rapid development of the museum would not have been possible without numerous friends, patrons and sponsors, or the great commitment of its staff. It offers a look behind the scenes into the “inner workings” of the museum, which usually remain hidden from visitors.

Four chronological sections present the founding and development of the museum, the move to the building on the island in 1925, the extensions and then the destruction caused during the war up to 1945, followed by the museum’s reconstruction and reorientation in the post-war period right up to the present day. Grouped around the chronology are the topics of collecting, preserving, exhibiting, documenting, educating and researching, which also represent the basic tasks of the museum.

1903The year the Deutsches Museum was founded

1925The year the museum opened on Museum Island

1,500The approximate number of piles driven into the island’s soil during the museum's construction

Exhibition Themes

Stifterurkunde. — Photo: Deutsches Museum | Christian Illing

Founders’ and Benefactors’ Documentation

Three display cases document the principles of the founders that underpinned the creation of the museum. The centrepiece is Kaiser Wilhelm II’s deed of donation from 1906.

Zwei Betonpfähle. — Blick in Ausstellung Museumsgeschichte mit Blick auf zwei Betonpfähle. Photo: Deutsches Museum | Christian Illing

A Museum on Piles

The museum building stands on over 1,500 concrete piles, which were driven down up to seven metres into the island’s soil. The construction process is explained with the help of photographs and drawings.

Objects and People

A look at the historical presentation of objects in the Deutsches Museum and the work of the Exhibition Service and Workshops.

Photo: Deutsches Museum | Christian Illing

Large Display Cases

The two large central display cases contain a broad spectrum of the museum’s collection: from the Magdeburg hemispheres to original equipment associated with the discovery of nuclear fission.

Inside the History of the Museum Exhibition

Skip content carousel

Founders’ and Benefactors’ Documentation. — Founders’ and benefactors’ documentation in the History of the Museum exhibition. Photo: Deutsches Museum | Christian Illing

A Brief Tour through the Museum’s History

Dr. Wilhelm Füßl, former director of the Deutsches Museum Archives, guides us through the exhibition on the history of the Deutsches Museum and presents highlights from the museum’s history. The film is currently only available in German.

Special objects in the collection

**Hammer der Grundsteinlegung im Deutschen Museum am 13.11.1906**
From: Miller, Friedrich von
Date: 1887

**Büste in Erz gegossen: Oskar von Miller**
From: Hildebrand, Adolf von; Miller, Oskar von
Date: 1913

**Gemälde: "Wissenschaft und Technik vom Fortschritt geführt"**
From: Diez, Julius
Date: 1917

**Schwanenfeder von Kaiser Wilhelm II.**
From: -
Date: 1906

**Symbolischer Baustein für den Studienbau, Grundsteinlegung Bibliothek 4.9.1928, 21 Stück (davon 5 Stück mit Pralinenschachtel)**
From: Porzellan-Manufaktur Nymphenburg; Gebr. Stollwerck A.G.Köln-Berlin
Date: 1928

**Gedenkteller zum Richtfest des Deutschen Museums, 5.10.1911**
From: Porzellan-Manufaktur Nymphenburg
Date: 1911

**Jubiläums-Maßkrüge "Deutsches Museum München Eröffnet 7. Mai 1925 / Eröffnet Mai 1925", 5 Stück**
From: Keramische Werkstätten München Herrsching A.G.; Guldbrandsen, Julius-Vilhelm
Date: 1925

**Anstecknadel für Teilnehmer an der Grundsteinlegung in lila geblümter Box**
From: -
Date: 1906

**Infotafel Provisorische Ausstellungen Deutsches Museum**
From: -
Date: 1910 - 1925

Any Questions?

Dr. Florian Breitsameter
Kurator
Abteilung Pharmazie, Medizintechnik und Museumsgeschichte
Telephone +49 89 2179 502
Fax +49 89 2179 99350
Email f.breitsameter@deutsches-museum.de

Cornelia Schubert
Assistance to department heads, main department heads and curators
Susanne Schmölz
Assistance to department heads, main department heads and curators

History of the Museum – from its Founding to its Renovation