Museum history

Building on the efforts of the Friend's Association of the Chemnitz Museum of Industry (e. V.), the city council of Chemnitz decided on August 28, 1991, to establish a museum of industry. This date is considered the official founding of the Chemnitz Museum of Industry, although initial ideas date back as far as 1827. With constantly new impulses, the people of Chemnitz sought to realize their vision of a trade and industry museum. Actors from a wide range of professions contributed to this effort, and it can be said without doubt: the Museum of Industry is a museum of the people of Chemnitz.

Compared to museums with a long-standing tradition, the Chemnitz Museum of Industry is a relatively young institution. Unlike other establishments with deep historical roots, the museum had to - and was able to - assert itself among the many newly founded cultural and recreational facilities. Today, it ranks among the most visited institutions in the city and its surroundings. The reasons for this include unique regional historical conditions, the vision and persistence of many individuals, a clear mission, topics of public interest, consistent support from Chemnitz entrepreneurs, politicians, and citizens, and above all, creative and dedicated staff.

The Zwickau District Directorate commissioned a major report in 1827 on the state of industry in Chemnitz. A total of 14 companies were examined and consulted, seven of which stated that the establishment of a “model collection” and/or “sample institutes” would be useful. At this point, the protagonists were not yet thinking of an industrial museum, but rather a kind of trade museum. The patterns and models displayed there were intended to serve manufacturers, students, and traveling visitors -what we would today call “guests” - as examples. The goal was to promote economic development.

Around 30 years later, on March 27, 1859, the Chemnitzer Tageblatt published an article that revived this idea. “Do not be alarmed by this suggestion, for we do not mean a museum in the usual sense of the word, as a collection of rare objects in the field of art [...], but an industrial museum. By this we mean a collection of attractive products from the industrial sector arranged in a suitable building, intended for instruction for students and masters, for viewing by experts, and for the pleasure of visitors. Imagine if we had possessed such a museum for 25 years, where important products of our workplaces had been brought—how captivating this would be for all those interested in technical processes. How instructive it would be for aspiring followers of industry. What a gratifying feeling it would awaken in successors of businesses if they could at any time view the products of their predecessors and thereby be inspired to further progress in their work.” With this appeal, the author revived the 1827 idea of a trade/industrial museum. The use of the term “museum” here is particularly notable.

The Chemnitz industrialist Carl Hermann Findeisen (1819–1891) opened a machinery business in 1858 and shortly thereafter began his own production. He established a permanent exhibition of mechanical engineering products in his factory rooms, attracting approximately 6,000–8,000 visitors annually. Whether he consciously pursued the idea of a trade/industrial museum is not documented. Four years later, the society Industria, founded in 1862, submitted a petition to the Chemnitz city council: “Indeed, it must be surprising that precisely in a city like Chemnitz, which, due to its diverse industrial diligence, stands almost alone in Germany, an idea has not yet been realized, whose benefits are apparent to every careful eye, whose necessity is generally felt, and is recognized by friends of industrial progress as an urgent and evident need.” The city’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry supported this proposal, pointing to Stuttgart, which already had a comparable institution, and called for the establishment of a similar facility in Chemnitz - the “center of Saxon industry” - with state funding. “According to the Chamber, the future museum should not be limited to Chemnitz, but should serve all of Saxony.” However, funding was refused by the Ministry of the Interior, reasoning that the Stuttgart Central Office for Trade and Commerce had a different character.

On April 30, 1863, the city council discussed the establishment of a higher weaving school in Chemnitz. The contributions of some council members show that the idea of a trade/industrial museum had not been abandoned. Council member Findeisen proposed on April 30, 1863: “When constructing the building for the higher weaving school, suitable premises for the accommodation of a trade museum should be considered simultaneously.” Council member Dörstling (dates unknown), a calico printing and spinning mill owner, argued for expanding the collection. Dörstling believed that the collection should include contemporary industrial innovations: “Exhibition of novelties in the field of local industry.” He further argued that the planned rooms of the weaving school were too small or poorly suited for a museum and that “construction of a necessary building” was essential. In direct response to these suggestions and requests, a commission was formed to prepare proposals for the future museum. The commission included representatives from the city council, the city deputies, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the manufacturing and trade sector, the craftsmen’s association, and the society Industria.

Chemnitz mayor Johannes Friedrich Müller (1812–1878) invited city councilors and representatives of business organizations to the council’s consultation room on July 25, 1864. The meeting addressed “initiating the establishment of a museum for industry and trade in Chemnitz.” Privy Councillor Dr. Julius Ambrosius Hülße (1812–1876) traveled from Dresden for this discussion. Hülße had served as director of the Chemnitz School of Trades and Building Crafts from 1841 to 1850 and was therefore familiar with local conditions. This July consultation was the result of an almost 40-year process that culminated in an intensive political discussion about a trade/industrial museum. However, the establishment of such a museum did not follow at that time.

In 1876, the Chemnitz craftsmen’s association decided to increase membership fees. The additional income was intended to finance the creation of a trade museum. The Deutsche Industrie-Zeitung reported in November 1877 on the opening of a trade museum on October 11 at the Royal Technical Institutes. Four years later, the craftsmen’s association purchased the former city courthouse building and converted it into their association house, known as the Meistereck. The museum and collection were moved there in 1882. In the following years, the collection expanded, and by 1886 it comprised 6,016 objects divided into nine groups. The textile industry, with 3,838 items, was the largest collection category. The fate of this collection is currently unknown.

In 1898, the Industrieverein für Chemnitz und Umgebung proposed the establishment of a municipal model collection to gather samples of products from Chemnitz weaving mills. This collection was later incorporated into the König-Albert-Museum, which opened in 1909, and remains part of the Chemnitz art collections today. It was not until the late 1960s and early 1970s that technicians, scientists, and members of the Chamber of Technology in Chemnitz revisited the idea of a trade and industrial museum.

On December 19, 1972, the district leadership of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany in Karl-Marx-Stadt decided to establish a “Museum on the History of the Productive Forces.” The Technical University of Chemnitz was tasked with developing a museum concept. To implement this political directive, “all economic management bodies, enterprises, institutions, and social organizations […] were to submit their proposals, ideas, and suggestions for collaboration on this collection.” On August 8, 1973, the SED district leadership of Karl-Marx-Stadt passed the resolution “On the Further Development of the Intellectual and Cultural Life in Karl-Marx-Stadt.” On page 15, it called for “the long-term establishment of a technical museum, which focuses particularly on the collection of machine tools and textile machinery.” A study examined potential locations in terms of their historical value and suitability as a museum. Using the Market Hall, the hall of the Electricity Works, or the former machine tool factory of the Saxon Machine Factory, formerly Richard Hartmann AG, was not feasible for financial reasons. On December 28, 1978, the Council of the Karl-Marx-Stadt district adopted the “Profiling Concept for the Museums of the Karl-Marx-Stadt District.” In the accompanying circular No. 0492, it states on page 1 of the appendix: “Museum of Mechanical Engineering in Karl-Marx-Stadt (newly founded) – History of the Productive Forces.”

At the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, a total of three different working groups/institutions were involved in developing an exhibition concept for the Museum of Productive Forces:

• The Research Center for Machine Tool Construction Karl-Marx-Stadt
• The Chamber of Technology
• The academic department of History of Science and Technology at the Technical University of Karl-Marx-Stadt

Subsequently, employees of the “Fritz Heckert” and “Textima” combines began documenting historical machines.

In 1983, Jochen Seyffarth developed a museum concept on behalf of the Research Center for Machine Tool Construction Karl-Marx-Stadt. This first museum concept was thematically oriented toward mechanical engineering, with special focus on foundry technology, drive technology, general mechanical engineering, machine tool construction, and textile machinery. In parallel, the Research Center organized the active search for exhibits. The objects identified in this process were placed under protection and stored for the future museum. However, due to the specific conditions in the GDR, decommissioning the machines and equipment was not foreseeable.

The last casting in the former Richter foundry - on July 15, 1987, at 1:25 p.m. - also marked the beginning of a new opportunity. The actors of the Museum of Productive Forces focused their efforts on the former foundry, and the creation of a display depot was considered. In the meeting on July 1, 1987, the participants agreed that the museum should focus on textile machinery. The VEB Textima took over the former teaching foundry. Dr. Walter May was appointed project manager, tasked with establishing the Museum of Productive Forces at Annaberger Straße 114 with a focus on textile machinery. Dr. May, together with Dr. Ulrich Thiel from the Karl-Marx-Stadt District Art Center, developed the first exhibition concept. The goal was to open a “first” exhibition on early textile technology in time for the Pioneer meeting in summer 1988, on August 19. For this purpose, a development team of up to five people was formed at times. Over the next two years, intensive working discussions were held repeatedly with various experts. During this phase, however, it became clear that the planned opening date could not be met. Nevertheless, the efforts and work did not end. In 1989, several enterprises and combines began collecting and preserving objects for future heritage cabinets and company museums. The political change of 1989/90, however, fundamentally altered the situation.

The political turnaround led to a profound structural change in Saxony and, in particular, in Chemnitz. In the following years, numerous traditional industrial enterprises were closed, initiating a period of job losses, privatization, and modernization, as well as economic liquidation through the Treuhandanstalt.

The further use of the factory buildings and, above all, their equipment remained unclear for a long time. Technologically, many machines were outdated and were decommissioned. However, from a museum perspective, such situations are a stroke of luck, as the cultural-historical value of many machines was recognized early on. The machines, often still in use in the GDR until the political turnaround, provide historians with insight into past eras.

Already in 1990, shortly after the turnaround, the Förderverein Industriemuseum Chemnitz e. V. (Friends’ Association of the Chemnitz Museum of Industry) was founded. Prof. Dr. Friedmar Erfurt, then rector of the Technical University of Chemnitz, recognized the unique opportunity presented by the political change and suggested establishing the association. With professional support from TU Chemnitz and the Working Group of Technological History Museums of the German Museum Association, the association began initial considerations for founding a museum. The chairmanship was assumed by Prof. Dr. Armin Russig, who had previously led the Research Center for Machine Tool Construction in Karl-Marx-Stadt.

With the public appeal, “Preserve the industrial cultural heritage of the region,” the association reached out to the people of Chemnitz. Through this and further appeals, the idea of an industrial museum was brought to broad public attention. “Within a few weeks, the association received over 100 offers to donate historic machines or information on their locations, including the Schönherr looms from 1920/22, located in a former upholstery weaving factory.”

Founding a museum as the cultural memory of an industrial success story and preserving an identity built on these achievements was therefore a logical step.

The development team, formed on July 1, 1991, consisted of 17 people funded through employment creation measures (ABM). Dr. Klaus Müller, who had been part of the Technical National Museum working group of the GDR until 1990, took over leadership of the team. The submitted concept led the Chemnitz city council to officially approve the founding of the Chemnitz Museum of Industry on August 28, 1991.

The concept justification states: “The state of Saxony, and in particular its most significant industrial city, Chemnitz, possess traditions in industrial, transportation, scientific, and social history, which have given the region a distinctive cultural character over the course of its development. It is therefore a responsibility and duty to further scientifically examine this history, present it clearly to the public, and use it for future development. In connection with other technology museum initiatives in Saxony (…) and considering the existence of nearly 50 technical display installations from the pre-industrial period, the Chemnitz Museum of Industry assumes the role of a scientific and organizational center. The museum is established as a municipal institution.”

The former teaching foundry C. A. Richter at Annaberger Straße 114 provided a suitable structural framework for the available material witnesses of Chemnitz’s industrial development and its surrounding region. A depot, already required during the founding phase, was found at the Tannenhauer weaving mill in Braunsdorf. By March 27, 1992, the structural groundwork had progressed enough to present the existing potential to the public with the first exhibition under the direction of Dr. Klaus Müller in 1993. After Dr. Müller’s departure, Dr. Wolfgang Uhlmann temporarily took over the museum’s management until 1995, when Dr. Jörg Feldkamp was appointed director and developed the museum into the industrial cultural and historical anchor point it is today.

The museum’s first collections manager was Jochen Seyffarth, who had already developed the 1983 concept. The integration of the working group “Restoration of Historical Textile Machines” into the Chemnitz Museum of Industry was another important step. Additionally, it was possible to secure the collections established in 1989, for example from VEB Numerik and the Screw Works, for the museum.