Steiff Museum

The Steiff Museum is an interactive museum on the factory site of Margarete Steiff GmbH in Giengen an der Brenz, a town in the Swabian region. The company began in the late 19th century when Margarete Steiff started making soft toys, including the first ‘Elefäntle’ in 1880. The museum traces the firm’s history and the story of the teddy bear from its origins to the present day. It opened in 2005 to mark the company’s 125th anniversary and the Steiff Festival. The museum building was designed by the Zurich firm Andreas Ramseier + Associates, with scenography by Milla & Partner, who also worked on the German Pavilion at Expo 2000. Artistic advice came from Uli Brée, who directed the 2002 musical *Teddy – ein musikalischer Traum*. The entrance area was managed by wpm Projektmanagement, which had also worked on the Berlin Reichstag. The project cost twelve million euros and involved descendants of Margarete Steiff’s brother. Visitors enter the three-storey exhibition space of 2,400 square metres through the sewing room of Margarete Steiff. They then follow Knopf and Frieda, two bear characters, on a search for three thousand lost bears that sank in a shipwreck. The tour includes a display of current teddy-bear production, where visitors can watch workers sewing by hand. Over two thousand exhibits illustrate the company’s growth and the bear’s rise to global fame.