Nuremberg Toy Museum
A municipal museum in Nuremberg documenting the cultural history of toys from antiquity to the present.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
The Nuremberg Toy Museum, also known as the Lydia Bayer Museum, is a municipal museum in Nuremberg, Bavaria, devoted to the cultural, social and technological history of playthings. It opened in 1971 in the historic Hallersches Haus at Karlstraße 13–15 and is widely recognized for presenting toys not merely as children’s objects, but as evidence of changing family life, education, craft, industry, design and popular culture. The museum’s collection grew from the private holdings of Lydia Bayer and Paul Bayer. Beginning in the early 1920s, the couple assembled toys at a time when such objects were rarely treated as historically significant. Their collection eventually supported the private Lydia Bayer Museum in Würzburg. After the City of Nuremberg acquired the Bayers’ holdings in 1966, the collection became the foundation for a public museum in Nuremberg. The museum’s opening in 1971, supported by an aid association, connected the institution with the city’s long history as a major center of toy production and trade. The museum occupies the Hallersches Haus, a historic urban property whose documented history reaches back to 1517. The building was associated with the patrician Haller family, was purchased by jeweler Paul Kandler in 1611, and received later architectural alterations including its characteristic oriel. Its inner courtyard includes a Dockengalerie, a wooden gallery whose turned balusters also evoke the German term “Docken,” associated with dolls. The building suffered severe damage during the Second World War but was subsequently reconstructed and forms part of Nuremberg’s Historical Mile. The collection now comprises approximately 87,000 objects, although only a small proportion is displayed at any one time. Its strongest emphasis is on the development of toys during the last two centuries, while its chronological reach extends from antiquity to contemporary products. Displays cover wooden toys, dolls and dollhouses, paper and tin figures, optical toys, model railways, vehicles, steam engines, construction toys and post-1945 products such as LEGO, Barbie and Playmobil. The museum also uses its holdings to explain Nuremberg’s role in the industrial-era toy economy. Exhibition areas include a presentation on wooden toys, galleries for dolls and dollhouses, a section on optical and mechanical toys, a technology-focused floor with model railways and vehicles, and a contemporary gallery devoted to toys made since 1945. The institution also provides an interactive children’s area, outdoor play facilities, a café and a museum shop. Its website extends access to the collection by making information about many objects available beyond the physical galleries. The museum’s exhibition space was expanded to approximately 1,200 square metres in 1989 and approximately 1,400 square metres in 1998 through additional roof construction. Since 1994 it has been part of the Nuremberg Municipal Museums network, alongside institutions including the Albrecht-Dürer-Haus, the City Museum Fembohaus, the Museum for Industrial Culture, the Documentation Centre Nazi Party Rally Grounds and the Memorium Nuremberg Trials. The museum remains an active cultural and educational institution serving local visitors, tourists, families, researchers and international audiences.
History
The Nuremberg Toy Museum is housed in the Hallersches Haus, a historic building at Karlstraße 13–15. The property can be traced to 1517, when it was associated with Wilhelm Haller the Elder, a member of Nuremberg’s patrician society. Jeweler Paul Kandler acquired the house in 1611 and had its frontage rebuilt, probably with the involvement of architect Jakob Wolff the Elder. An oriel was added or altered around 1720. The building’s courtyard Dockengalerie is characteristic of historic Nuremberg architecture and provides an architectural link to the museum’s subject: the German word “Docken” can refer both to turned wooden balusters and to dolls. The house was heavily damaged during the Second World War and rebuilt in the postwar period. It later became part of the Historical Mile, a route connecting important sites in Nuremberg’s history. Its reuse as a toy museum links the preservation of the city’s architectural heritage with the interpretation of its manufacturing and commercial traditions. Lydia Bayer and Paul Bayer formed the museum’s original collection. They began collecting systematically in the early 1920s, decades before museums generally regarded toys as valuable cultural or historical evidence. The couple established a private Lydia Bayer Museum in Würzburg, where the public could see part of their holdings. Their collection brought together objects representing domestic play, miniature worlds, mechanical ingenuity and the changing materials and techniques used in toy production. The City of Nuremberg acquired the Bayers’ holdings in 1966. With assistance from a supporting association, the city prepared the Hallersches Haus for public use. The Nuremberg Toy Museum opened in 1971 and rapidly developed an international reputation. Its founding also coincided with the city’s commemoration of the 500th anniversary of Albrecht Dürer’s birth. A public fountain featuring a colorful rooster rider by Nuremberg artist Michael Mathias Prechtl was installed outside the museum for the inauguration. The ceramic figure resembles a traditional toy and also recalls Nuremberg’s historical identity as a toy-producing city. The museum’s remit expanded from the Bayers’ holdings into a broad history of playthings. The collection now contains approximately 87,000 objects, ranging from antiquity to the present, with the largest interpretive emphasis on the last two hundred years. Because only around five percent of the collection can normally be shown in the galleries, the museum’s depot and digital collection resources are important parts of its public and scholarly role. Physical expansion took place in stages. Exhibition space reached approximately 1,200 square metres in 1989 and approximately 1,400 square metres in 1998 following roof construction. The museum’s galleries examine wooden toys, dolls, dollhouses, paper and tin figures, optical devices, model railways, vehicles, steam engines, movable figures and modern toys. A dedicated area for toys since 1945 places internationally familiar products such as LEGO, Barbie and Playmobil within a longer history of mass production, branding and consumer culture. Education is central to the museum’s current identity. The Kids on top area provides opportunities for play, handicrafts, reading, construction and table football, while the outdoor facilities include a playground and additional interactive installations. The museum also operates a café and shop and hosts temporary exhibitions and events. Since 1994 it has belonged to the Nuremberg Municipal Museums network, ensuring institutional links with other city museums and heritage sites. It continues to function as an active municipal museum for local communities, tourists, families and researchers.
- 1998
Further expansion
[1]Additional roof construction increased the exhibition area to approximately 1,400 square metres.
- 1994
Joins the Nuremberg Municipal Museums network
[1]The museum became part of the network of municipal museums in Nuremberg.
- 1989
First major exhibition-space expansion
[1]Roof construction increased the museum’s exhibition area to approximately 1,200 square metres.
- 1971
Museum opens to the public
[1]The Nuremberg Toy Museum opened in the Hallersches Haus with support from an aid association.
- 1966
City of Nuremberg acquires the Bayer holdings
[1]The municipal government took over the collection assembled by Lydia and Paul Bayer.
- 1920
The Bayer collection begins
[1]Lydia and Paul Bayer began assembling a comprehensive toy collection, laying the basis for the later museum.
- 1611
Paul Kandler acquires the property
[1]Jeweler Paul Kandler purchased the house and initiated a major rebuilding of its frontage.
- 1517
Early documented history of the museum building
[1]The property later known as the Hallersches Haus is documented as belonging to Wilhelm Haller the Elder.
Products and positioning
A public cultural-history museum that interprets toys as artifacts of craftsmanship, industrialization, childhood, technology and social change, with particular emphasis on Nuremberg’s historical importance in toy making.
Historical toy collection
Wooden toys
The wooden-toy displays introduce one of the oldest and most important material traditions in toy making. They show how carving, turning, painting and simple mechanical construction produced objects for domestic play, education and collecting. The presentation also connects wooden toys with Nuremberg’s craft traditions and with the architecture of the museum building, whose courtyard gallery uses turned wooden elements.
Historical toy collection
Dolls and dollhouses
Dolls, dollhouses and miniature domestic interiors document changing ideas about childhood, family life, gender roles and household education. The displays include Nuremberg kitchens or doll kitchens and related miniature furnishings, allowing visitors to see how toys reproduced social environments at reduced scale and how the design of dolls and domestic play changed over time.
Historical toy collection
Optical toys
The optical-toy section presents devices such as the zograscope, magic lantern and stereoscope. These objects demonstrate how entertainment, visual science and popular education overlapped before modern cinema and digital media. They show how toy-like instruments introduced users to projected, magnified or stereoscopic images and made technological novelty part of leisure culture.
Model and mechanical toys
World of Technology
This gallery focuses on technical play, including a large model railway layout, vehicles, trains, steam engines and movable figures. It presents toys as miniature systems that imitate transportation, industry and mechanized work. The displays also reveal how engineering concepts and industrial optimism were translated into accessible forms of play and collecting.
Modern toy collection · 1945
Toys since 1945
The modern-toy gallery examines products created after the Second World War, including LEGO, Barbie and Playmobil. Rather than treating these as isolated commercial products, the museum places them within the history of mass manufacturing, international distribution, media influence, construction play, fashion dolls and branded childhood. The section extends the museum’s historical narrative into contemporary popular culture.
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