A collection on leather and shoes unique worldwide, with more than 30,000 objects from crafts, fashion and cultures, in Offenbach am Main.
From June 12, 2026
The last major exhibition before the renovation: it tells the museum's more than hundred-year history, including the Nazi era, and presents the winning design for the conversion. Runs until early 2027.
Hugo Eberhardt founded the museum in March 1917 in Offenbach, then a center of the leather goods industry. The collection was intended to give young craftsmen historical models for their training. It was first housed in the Technische Lehranstalten (technical schools) and moved to the Villa Mainpfaltz in 1922.
In 1938 the museum moved into its current home on Frankfurter Straße: a neoclassical trade fair building from 1829, erected for the Offenbach fair after the customs agreement between Hesse and Prussia. Under Eberhardt, who ran the museum until 1959, and his successor Günter Gall, the holdings and buildings grew considerably; at times the building housed three museums under one roof, including the Deutsches Schuhmuseum (German Shoe Museum).
Today the collection comprises more than 30,000 objects: applied art in leather from antiquity to the present, ethnographic items from around the world, shoes from many centuries, and shadow puppets. The museum is a public-law institution funded mainly by the City of Offenbach; it has been directed by Inez Florschütz since 2014.
Following an architectural competition in 2024, won by Rustler Schriever Architekten, a complete renovation is imminent. Since June 2026 the exhibition “Am Wendepunkt” (At the Turning Point) has looked back on more than a hundred years of history before the museum closes for construction in spring 2027 and continues its work at a temporary location.
| Adults | €8 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €5School students aged 16 and over, fashion and vocational school students, university students, people with disabilities with a degree of disability (GdB) of 50 or more |
| Children & teens | €3free up to age 2 · Children and school students aged 3 to 15 €3, younger children free. |
| Seniors | –No senior discount listed. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €5Reduced admission with a degree of disability (GdB) of 50 or more. |
| Students & apprentices | €5 |
| Groups (10+ people) | €7 per personSchool groups up to age 15 €2 per person. |
| Families | €162 adults and 2 children (ages 3–15). |
Free admission: Free admission every first Saturday of the month (not for groups and school classes).
Guided tours: €80 (German) or €90 (English) per hour; school classes up to 10 people €44, from 11 people €4 per person.
Ramps and elevator; wheelchairs and rollators available free of charge on request. Accessible restroom with baby changing table on the first floor. Website not yet available in Easy Language or sign language.
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 2 |
|---|---|
| Family ticket | €16 · 2 adults and 2 children (ages 3–15). |
Holiday workshops and Saturday workshop for children, family program; children's birthday parties (2 or 3 hours, max. 10 children). Strollers allowed in the exhibitions, baby changing table in the accessible restroom.
Offenbach-Ledermuseum
S1, S2, S8, S9 to Offenbach-Ledermuseum (Ludwigstraße exit); tram 15/16 to Offenbach Stadtgrenze; bus 103, 108 to Ludwigstraße/Ledermuseum.
Parking available
Recommended: City-Center parking garage at the CinemaxX, Berliner Str. 206–216.
By car via A 3/A 5 to Offenbacher Kreuz, exit Offenbach Mitte/Kaiserlei toward the city center.
Get directionsCafé in the atrium. Free coat check and lockers.
Rooms can be booked for events; inquiries at +49 69 8297980.
Inquiries & details| Guided tours | yes · approx. 60 min |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Photography | Permitted for private purposes without flash or tripod, unless otherwise indicated. |
| Good to know | Guided tours in German and English as well as workshops for school classes by booking. |
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