The Bavarian city of Nuremberg has been known for its toys for over 600 years.
The tradition of toy craftsmanship in the city dates back to the medieval doll masters and stretches from the outstanding tin figurine masters and numerous tin toy manufacturers of the industrial era to today's modern toys.
The Nuremberg Toy Museum was founded in 1971 and is one of the most famous museums of its kind in the world.
The museum's collection displays the cultural history of toys from ancient times to the present day and contains about 87,000 exhibits, of which only a part can be seen on the museum's exhibition areas.
The core of the museum's collection consists of toys that Lydia and Paul Bayer collected. The city of Nuremberg acquired the shares of Buyers in 1966 and since then the collection has been replenished with new copies.
Today, the museum features dolls, toy grocery stores, tin soldiers, model trains, as well as iron toys, wooden toys and modern toys such as Lego, Barbie, Playmobil or Matchbox.
Exhibition spaces of the Toy Museum:
- on the first level there is a temporary exhibition hall;
- the second level is dedicated to dolls, doll houses, doll "utensils", free-standing and optical toys;
- the third level is occupied by mechanical toys, including: a large model of a railway, numerous cars, trains, moving figures and other technical toys;
- the upper level of the museum is dedicated to more modern toys, since 1945, there is also a children's playground.
In summer (from April to the end of October), the museum has a large outdoor playground and a museum cafe "La Kritz" in the courtyard.
If you want to visit only the cafe, then you do not need to pay for admission to the museum. But it is worth informing the ticket office staff that you will go to a cafe.
The Toy Museum building in Nuremberg
The building itself, in which the museum is located, is a value and a landmark of the city.
The building, called "Hallersches Haus", was built in 1517 as an estate for the noble Nuremberg Haller family. It originally belonged to the eldest member of the patrician family, Wilhelm Haller.
The exterior of the house is notable for the bay window, which was erected around 1720.
The stepped pediment with scrolls and turrets is made in the German Renaissance traditions.
The building, together with the neighboring ones, are built in such a way that they form an inner courtyard.
The house was badly damaged during the Second World War, but was restored in the following years.
Today, the Toy Museum building is one of the stops (points) on the tourist route "Historical Mile of Nuremberg" (Historische Meile Nürnberg).
Practical information
The Nuremberg Toy Museum is located in the northeastern part of the historic old town of Nuremberg, near the Flea Market Island and the magnificent Nuremberg Trio, at Karlstrasse 13-15 (Karlstraße).
The museum offers group tours, and you can rent an audio guide.
We recommend checking the opening hours of the museum and the cost of entrance tickets directly before visiting the official website.
Website of the Toy Museum in Nuremberg: toy-museum.
All accommodation facilities in Nuremberg, including in the city center and near the Toy Museum, can be viewed and booked here
