Deutsches Werkzeugmuseum

The Deutsches Werkzeugmuseum stands in Remscheid, a town in the Bergisches Land region of North Rhine-Westphalia. Opened in 1967 as a simple Werkzeugmuseum, it became Germany’s only tool museum by 1970 and took its present name. Its collection spans thousands of years, from stone tools to 21st-century power tools, and is nationally important for the history of craft and industry. It includes hand tools, machine tools and electric tools, each telling part of the story of making and using tools. The museum also explores how tools were traded across Germany. The building itself was remodelled between 1996 and 1998 to create a modern museum concept. This redesign highlights Remscheid’s role as a key centre of German toolmaking. Visitors can follow the development of tool production, use and distribution across the country. The displays show how local workshops grew into major industrial suppliers. The exhibition also explains how tool design changed with each century of craftsmanship and mechanisation. Inside, the museum is arranged to show tools in their working contexts. Long benches display rows of chisels, planes and saws from different eras. Larger machines illustrate the shift from hand power to steam and electricity. Information panels explain how each tool was made and used. Outside, the museum’s surroundings include quiet courtyards and low-rise buildings that echo the town’s industrial past. The whole site gives a clear picture of how tools shaped both daily life and large-scale industry.