Deutsches Automatenmuseum

The Deutsches Automatenmuseum is a technical museum in Espelkamp, a town in eastern Westphalia. It sits in a former manor house called Schloss Benkhausen, surrounded by parkland. The building itself dates from the 19th century and provides a calm setting for the exhibits. The museum grew from a private collection begun in 1985 with a single American AMI B music box. Within two years the collection held more than 400 pieces. In 1995 it opened to the public in the Gauselmann Group headquarters. A major addition came in 2007 when 650 rare machines from a Paris collector were added. Today the museum displays around 200 items from a total of roughly 1,800 in storage. Visitors find seven themed areas covering every kind of coin-operated machine. There are vending and service automats, entertainment machines, and mechanical musical devices. The displays include needle games, bomb games, and pinball machines. Gambling and skill games occupy separate rooms. Music boxes of many shapes and sizes complete the tour.