Glashütte has been an important centre of German watchmaking for more than 165 years. Throughout the years, the small town south of Dresden has been a synonym for the highest quality, precision, and luxury “Made in Germany”.
In order to convey the rich history of the town and to preserve its cultural heritage, the manufactory Glashütte Original and the town of Glashütte established together the “German Watch Museum Glashütte - Nicolas G. Hayek” Foundation.
The modern museum occupies two floors of an impressive building erected in the late 19th century to house Glashütte's first school for watchmakers, founded by Moritz Grossmann in 1878. Glashütte Original and the Swatch Group undertook renovation of the building, and today the historic site welcomes visitors from all over the world who wish to engage with the history of watchmaking in Glashütte.
In line with the exhibition's motto “The Fascination of Time – Bringing Time to Life”, the museum presents more than 400 unique exhibits chosen to illustrate the history of watchmaking in Glashütte from the 1840s to the present day. Various interactive displays and exhibits help to bring this world to life as visitors examine Glashütte pocket watches, wristwatches and pendulum clocks from different periods, marine chronometers and escapement models, historical certificates and patents, tools and workbenches as well as astronomical models and metronomes.
Thematically, the exhibition is composed of a series of “Historical Rooms” and “Time Rooms”, all framed by a prologue and an epilogue.
The “Historical Rooms” establish the chronological context of the watchmaking town and present, at the outset, the famous figures and founding fathers who made Glashütte an important centre of fine German watchmaking and watchmaker training. Throughout the exhibition, other periods which were definitive in the establishment of Glashütte are presented, such as the Wilhelminian Period, the First and Second World Wars, the era of expropriation, as well as German reunification and new beginnings.
The “Time Rooms” break up the chronological progression of the history of watchmaking in Glashütte and transport visitors into, for example, the microcosm of a mechanical watch. In this way, visitors can experience for themselves the precision and the interplay of hundreds of individual parts. They can also make independent discoveries in another multimedia room, which contains a detailed interactive glossary of chronometry.
As a modern and experience-orientated time-world, the museum is designed to appeal not only to watch enthusiasts but is also consciously orientated to the general public, families and young people.
German Watch Museum Glashütte – Nicolas G. Hayek Foundation
Named after the founder and former president of the Swatch Group, Nicolas G. Hayek, the non-profit foundation is dedicated to matters of art, culture, science, research and education in the field of watchmaking. It was established on 16 March, 2006 by the town of Glashütte and the watch manufactory Glashütte Original. Two years later, on May 22, 2008, the German Watch Museum Glashütte opened its doors to the public.
The stated mission of the German Watch Museum Glashütte – Nicolas G. Hayek Foundation is to preserve the cultural heritage of Glashütte, to promote the arts and to encourage specialized science and research associated with the fine art of watchmaking. Through the use of the museum, an exhibition work area, a specialist technical library, an extensive archive as well as various other projects and activities, the foundation ensures that its unique and unparalleled collection is maintained and will continue to be made available to the general public.
Opening hours: The German Watch Museum Glashütte is open daily from 10 am to 5 pm.
Visitor address: Deutsches Uhrenmuseum Glashütte Schillerstraße 3a, D-01768 Glashütte
Phone: +49 (0) 35053 46 283 / Fax: +49 (0) 35053 46 285
