Ziegelmuseum Mainz

About the museum

The Alte Ziegelei in Bretzenheim goes back to a field kiln of the late 19th century. In 1904, Ludwig Anselm Rosbach had a Hoffmann ring kiln built, turning the operation into an industrial brickworks; it was modernised in 1922. After closing in 1972, the site fell into disrepair until the city of Mainz acquired it in 1978 at the instigation of an adult education centre working group. Since 1980, the Verein der Freunde der Ziegelei (Friends of the Brickworks association) has looked after its preservation; in 1992 the complex was listed as an industrial monument. Today it is a non-commercial educational, leisure and cultural centre and a stop on the Route of Industrial Culture Rhein-Main.

The Brick Museum grew out of the finds of two collectors: the physician Klaus Ewe recovered Roman bricks at construction sites of the Mainz University Hospital, the former site of the legionary camp, and the hydraulic engineer Christian von Kaphengst gathered historic water pipes. The collection is housed in the roughly 600-square-metre half-timbered loft above the ring kiln, the only completely preserved one of its kind in Rhenish Hesse.

On display are cuneiform bricks from Mesopotamia, Roman building ceramics with stamps and animal tracks, moulded bricks, souvenir bricks made after hours ("Feierabendziegel") and numerous roof coverings. In 2015, a selection from the estate of a roofing master from Osthofen was added on permanent loan. The museum is run by volunteers.

Highlights

• Fully preserved Hoffmann ring kiln of 1904
• Cuneiform bricks from Eridu and a brick fragment from Babylon
• Roman room with brick stamps, hypocaust tiles and footprints
• Roof coverings from beaver-tail tiles to monk-and-nun tiles
• Clay pipes and water conduits from several eras

Permanent exhibitions

• Ziegel aus vier Jahrtausenden – From cuneiform bricks from Mesopotamia and souvenir and after-hours bricks to modern-era roof coverings.
• Der Römerraum – Roman building ceramics from Mainz with stamps, tally marks and impressions of people and animals.
• Tonröhren und Wasserleitungen – Conduit pipes of clay, wood and iron from Roman times to the early modern period.

Operated by

Verein der Freunde der Ziegelei e. V. (Abteilung Ziegelmuseum)

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Admission is free.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Hands-on stations

Children's programme for groups of up to ten children aged 7 to 11 on registration (kinder@ziegelmuseum-mainz.de): preparing clay, shaping and decorating small bricks, a walk through the ring kiln. During the brickworks festival and on Open Monument Day, the children's brickworks is open without registration. Bring clothes that can get dirty.

Getting there & parking

By car via the A 60 or A 63 to the Mainz-Süd motorway interchange, then on the B 40 to the Mainz-Bretzenheim exit. Satnav address: Alte Ziegelei 18, 55128 Mainz. The museum is located on the grounds of the Alte Ziegelei Rosbach.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit