Museum Ravensburger

The Museum Ravensburger stands in Ravensburg’s old town, a former patrician house built in 1416 by the Möttelin trading family. Over the centuries the building passed through the hands of the Besserer merchants, the Schellenberg barons and several civic officials, each leaving their mark. Its façade still shows the 1788 fresco painted for Mayor Franz Balthasar, while inside the first floor preserves a 1737 ceiling depicting the four cardinal virtues. The museum explores the Ravensburger publishing house, founded here in 1896 as the Otto Maier Verlag. Visitors learn how games are designed, how puzzles are cut and how books move from manuscript to shop shelf. Original pieces such as Otto Maier’s desk and the 1890 board game “Reise um die Erde” show the company’s early days. Interactive displays let children follow the tiptoi museum rally, answering quiz questions at every station. On the first floor the development of “Das verrückte Labyrinth” is traced step by step. The top floor presents children’s non-fiction series like “Wieso? Weshalb? Warum?” through hands-on exhibits. More than 1,300 games and puzzles lie ready to play, while the courtyard invites families to gather for open-air rounds. The building also serves as a registry office for civil weddings in Ravensburg.