Industriemuseum Lauf

The Industriemuseum Lauf stands beside the Pegnitz in the old industrial quarter below the town’s medieval centre. Its four original buildings date from the 16th to the early 20th century, and ten more were added in 2008 when the museum took over the Dietz & Pfriem valve factory. Four large water wheels from around 1900 still turn beside the river, and the newest structure, the 1936 water tower, preserves the factory’s 1930s layout intact. The museum shows how workers and craftsmen lived and worked between 1890 and 1970. Exhibits include a working hammer mill, grain mill and small hydroelectric plant driven by water wheels. The handcraft section recreates a barber’s shop, umbrella workshop, cobbler’s bench, tinsmith’s bench and a chemist’s shop. Two period apartments illustrate changing domestic life, one from the early 1900s and the other from the kidney-shaped-furniture era. Visitors follow a set route through four areas. The high-industry section features a tandem steam engine from 1902 and original valve-factory rooms such as the stamping forge, lathe shop, grinding shop, packing room and workers’ canteen. Regular temporary shows and special events run throughout the year, and on selected days the mill, forge, water wheels and steam engine are set in motion for visitors.