About us

The Dresden Technology Collections are the technology museum and science centre of the state capital Dresden. In a former camera factory, children, young people and families will find many opportunities to experiment and explore the phenomena of nature, the foundations of science and the latest achievements in technology. With permanent exhibitions on the history of photography and film, the computer and other media technology, as well as special exhibitions on photographic art and current technology research, we promote the exploration of the technical foundations of the present.

The special feature is the combination of technological and industrial history with science and current research. The Technology Collections are a land of experience, a public forum for technology research, a museum of the information society and a platform for photography and animated film all in one. Co-operations, for example with the TU Dresden, DRESDEN-concept and other partners from science and research, play an important role for us.

We are part of the network of Museums in the City of Dresden.

KI generiert: Das Bild zeigt das Profil eines älteren Mannes mit vollem weißen Haar und Bart in einem Anzug. Die Aufnahme ist ein Schwarz-Weiß-Porträt.

Museum in an industrial monument

The Ernemann building is the symbol of 100 years of the photo cinema industry in Dresden. At the end of the 19th century, the businessman Heinrich Ernemann (1850 – 1928) invested in the rapidly growing industry with a keen sense of economic trends. His factory on Schandauer Straße, built in 1898, formed the nucleus of a building complex that was continuously expanded until 1938. The Dresden architects Emil Högg and Richard Müller designed a functional new building in the functional style of the Deutscher Werkbund. It was built in an expansive reinforced concrete structure and was connected to the old factory building via a bridge. In 1926, the Ernemann family business was absorbed into the Zeiss-Ikon Group. In the course of the armaments boom of the 1930s, the factory received a further extension along Glashütter Straße in 1938.

After the Second World War, VEB Pentacon turned the Ernemann tower into a distinctive trademark of the GDR camera industry. The industrial use of the building ended with the liquidation of the company in 1990. The state capital of Dresden took over the listed building and housed a museum there in 1992 with the Technische Sammlungen.

Grundsteinlegung mit erstem Spatenstich für den Seitenflügel und Turm des Neubaus, 1922, aus: Betriebschronik der Ernemann Werke von Karl Betghe / Faksimile, Original im Landesmuseum für Technik und Arbeit Mannheim

KI generiert: Das Bild zeigt eine detaillierte Zeichnung der Ernemann-Werke A.G. Dresden, einschließlich mehrerer Fabrikgebäude und rauchender Schornsteine. Es ist ein Werbeplakat, das die Größe und Bedeutung der Firma darstellt.

KI generiert: Das Bild zeigt eine Luftaufnahme eines Stadtviertels mit mehreren großen Gebäudekomplexen, darunter ein markantes Gebäude mit Türmen und Schornsteinen. Es handelt sich vermutlich um ein altes Industrie- oder Fabrikgelände, das von Wohnhäusern und Gärten umgeben ist.

The history of the museum

The Technology Collections of the City of Dresden were founded in 1966 as the Polytechnic Museum with the aim of supporting general technical education. After being renamed and moving to the Ernemann Building in 1993, the Technology Collections are dedicated to researching and presenting the technical and industrial history of Dresden and Saxony. The aim is to create an information and communication museum.

The current exhibition area is approx. 6000 square metres. It documents the history of technology over the last 150 years since the beginning of the industrial revolution, with a special focus on the history of technology in Dresden and Saxony.

About us

Museum in an industrial monument

The history of the museum

Collections

Team