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The entire spectrum of historic toys, from Antiquity to the present day, unfolds behind the Renaissance façade of this citizen's house right in the heart of Nuremberg's Old Town

Toy Museum (Spielzeug Museum)

Nuremberg has always been a toy city of world renown, its tradition stretching from the "Dockenmacher" (doll makers) of mediaeval times to outstanding tin figure manufacturers and numerous tin toy producers in the industrial age, up to the International Toy Fair, the world's most important trade fair of its kind.

Nuremberg Toy Museum in the very heart of the Old Town is part of this rich cultural heritage. Its comprehensive and exceptionally high quality collection spans the time from antiquity to the present day, with a strong focus on the past two centuries. Since opening in 1971, the museum, which is based on the collection of Lydia and Paul Bayer, has attracted more than four million visitors from all over the world.

The four floors behind the Renaissance façade of a Nuremberg town residence encompass the entire variety of historic toys. Wooden toys await visitors on the ground floor. On the first floor, dolls and exquisite dolls' houses allow a glimpse of life in centuries past. The world's most comprehensive collection of E. P. Lehmann toys tells the fascinating history of this famous German family company. A "Tin World" is presented on the second floor. Vehicles, toy train sets and steam engines are testimony to the exceptional role played by Nuremberg toy producers in the field of technical toys.

Recent toy history may be found on the top floor, in an attractively designed new exhibition space. Exhibits go from the makeshift toys of the immediate post-war years to the high-tech toys of today: Barbie, Lego and Playmobil, as well as Schuco cars (displayed in a fifties exhibition stand), train sets, fantasy figures and computer games on CD-ROM - and these you may even try out! Our little visitors may play to their hearts' delight in their very own imaginatively designed kids' area immediately next door.

The museum rounds off its range with publications on the history of toys, with guided tours, collectors' meetings, talks, puppet theatre, games days, children's birthday parties and a well-stocked museum shop.

Nuremberg PORTAL