Deutsches Schreibmaschinenmuseum

The German Typewriter Museum stands in a side building of Jagdschloss Thiergarten, south of Bayreuth in Upper Franconia. It moved there in September 2024 after a two-year pause while exhibits were stored off-site. The collection traces the history of writing machines from 1864 to today, built on a 1934 foundation. It is run by the Bayreuth association for shorthand and text processing, which cares for the machines on a voluntary basis. The story began in 1934 when a stenography body started gathering historic machines for typing exams. The museum holds about 600 machines on display and nearly 1,000 more in storage. Visitors see the world’s first surviving typewriter, a 1864 model by Peter Mitterhofer, and a well-preserved Sholes & Glidden from 1874. Other highlights include Bar-Lock, Mignon and a 1914 Ultima made in Germany. The show also covers electromechanical and early electronic machines, including IBM models. The collection keeps growing as owners donate pieces, but space remains tight. Inside the side building, exhibits fill a single room with machines arranged by era and design. Outside, the Jagdschloss Thiergarten grounds offer quiet walks among old trees. The setting is calm, away from the city centre, yet only a short drive from Bayreuth’s centre. The building itself is a modest former hunting-lodge annexe, now adapted for display cases and visitor flow.