Deutsches Technikmuseum Berlin (DTMB)

10963 Berlin-Kreuzberg, Germany (Berlin)

The Deutsches Technikmuseum, founded in 1982, stands in a long tradition of scientific and technical collections. Many of these had their home in Berlin for more than 120 years, and some of these collections have been taken over by the Deutsches Technikmuseum. A great deal, however, was destroyed during the Second World War, or moved elsewhere.

Close to Potsdamer Platz, the museum occupies a historical industrial site dating back to 1874:
the site of the former goods yard of Anhalter Güterbahnhof.
The large museum park – containing two windmills, a water mill, a smithy and a brewery – is also an oasis of green.

 

Permanent exhibitions

Chemical and pharmaceutical industry
Power engineering
Film technology
Photo technology
Historical brewery
Municipal transport and services
Aerospace
Telecommunications
Paper technology
Manufacturing techniques
Computing and automation
Rail transport
Navigation
Writing and printing
Road traffic
Textile >

Telecommunications

Electric communications have had a tremendous influence on the relationship between people over the past 100 years. Distances seem to have shrunk, the volume of information available has grown considerably, access to information is much more widespread. Until the 19th century, it was mainly the ruling sovereign who was in control of the communication technology of the time (post, telegraph system). Today, access to communication systems primarily depends on the necessary financial means.


The metropolis of Berlin has always been a hub for electric communications in Germany. At the same time, Berlin was also home to administration bodies, research institutes and companies that were vital for such innovation. The importance of telecommunications technology as a key industry in modern times is growing as databases are increasingly being integrated into networks.


The main topics forming the exhibition on the history of telecommunications provide a cross-section of the entire collection. The exhibits do not claim to convey a complete thematic or chronological picture. "Electropolis" Berlin forms the heart of the exhibition.

Rail transport

The grand entrance arch of Anhalter Bahnhof station 1880 Trains, locomotives and people

Behind the grand entrance arch of the former Anhalter Bahnhof station begins the world of rail transport. In former times Berlin was Germany’s railway capital with numerous main-line stations and locomotive works, and it is from this that the exhibition derives its inspiration.


Our presentation of Germany’s railway history starts with the steam engine “Beuth”, moving on to the first ever electric railway (invented by Werner Siemens), express locomotives of various classes, rubble trains and railcars, and ending with diesel engines and the precursors of the ICE high-speed train.