Specialist museum for Erzgebirge wooden toys and Christmas folk art in Seiffen, with an open-air museum and a water-powered ring-turning mill from 1760.
October 3, 2026 – September 26, 2027
The Erzgebirge clapper doll meets Barbie: drawing on pieces from collector Bettina Dorfmann, the show compares two classic toys and explores fashion, gender roles and the spirit of the times.
Through December 31, 2028
In the open-air museum: the making of pressed toy figures in the Saxon-Bohemian Erzgebirge, with the furnished workshop of a figure presser.
Through December 31, 2028
In a 1912/13 transformer station relocated to the open-air museum, the focus is on the beginnings of electrification in the central Erzgebirge.
Through December 31, 2028
In the open-air museum: washing, bleaching and ironing on a small Erzgebirge farm up to the 1930s.
The foundation was laid by a toy trade show set up in 1936 in the industrial building on Seiffen's Hauptstraße that is still in use today. It was intended to promote the toy industry and the emerging tourist trade and attracted a great many visitors until it closed in 1943 because of the war. The museum still uses the logo from that time, with a green tree and a leaping stag.
In 1953 the building reopened as a local history museum. In the 1960s and 1970s, with a library and archives, it developed into a scholarly specialist museum for toy making and Christmas crafts in the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains). After a comprehensive renovation in 1998/99, the newly designed permanent exhibition covers around 1,000 square meters on three floors and presents the entire toy-making region, including Olbernhau, Grünhainichen and the neighboring Bohemian area.
As a branch site, the open-air museum was created around 2.5 kilometers away and opened in May 1973. Its centerpiece is the water-powered turning mill from 1760, preserved on its original site, where wooden rings are still turned today; since 1971, further buildings from the central Erzgebirge have been relocated to the three-hectare site. Both museums are run by the municipality of Kurort Seiffen. In 2026 the toy museum is being extensively renovated and will reopen on October 3 with a new special exhibition.
| Adults | €10.70 |
|---|---|
| Reduced | €7School pupils aged 17 and over, students up to age 35, trainees/apprentices, people with severe disabilities (each with proof) |
| Children & teens | €2free up to age 3 · Children up to 16 accompanied by a paying parent or grandparent free; without such an adult €2. The municipality of Seiffen gives 4 to 16 years for the children's price. |
| Seniors | –No senior discount listed. |
| Visitors with disabilities | €7Reduced admission with proof. |
| Students & apprentices | €7Students up to their 35th birthday. |
| Groups (10+ people) | €8 per personGroups of 10 or more €8 per adult, 20 or more €7.50; children's groups up to age 16 €2 per child. |
| Families | –Children accompanied by paying parents or grandparents are admitted free. |
| Bonus ticket toy museum + open-air museum (adults) | €16Includes accompanying children up to 16. |
Individual prices apply separately to the toy museum and the open-air museum. Members of the friends' association free. Specialist guided tours by binding advance booking (max. 30 people, approx. 60 minutes) €85 each for the toy museum or open-air museum; school classes in the toy museum €1.50 per child plus a €45 tour fee.
Toy museum: step-free access from the parking lot with a passenger elevator to all exhibition floors. The open-air museum is set on hilly terrain with historic buildings; no information on accessibility there.
Great for kids & families
| Kids’ admission | free up to age 3 |
|---|
Age-appropriate play stations for ages 2–6, 7–11, and 12–18 (including building sets and play mats for the youngest), a small museum guide with tasks, and a museum quiz with a certificate of honor; recognized in Saxony as a "Familienfreundliche Freizeiteinrichtung" (family-friendly leisure facility) since 2005.
Parking available
Parking directly at the entrances of the Spielzeugmuseum (town center) and the open-air museum (approx. 2.5 km away toward Deutscheinsiedel), also for buses.
By car: A 4, exit Chemnitz via Marienberg and Olbernhau, or exit Nossen via Freiberg, Sayda, and Neuhausen.
Get directionsMuseum shop in the Spielzeugmuseum (daily 10:00–17:00) with books, replicas, and ring-turned figures from the museum workshops; smaller selection at the ticket desk of the open-air museum and at the ring-turning workshop.
Civil wedding ceremonies in the wedding room, dedicated in 2024, in a historic two-family house in the open-air museum (up to 8 guests) or outdoors depending on the weather; dates via the registry office of Kurort Seiffen.
Inquiries & details| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Specialist guided tours only by timely advance booking (tel. 037362 17019); public guided tours irregularly according to the events calendar. Daily demonstrations at the ring-turning mill in the open-air museum; on craft days, other historic workshops are in operation too. School programs for grades 1 to 7 by appointment; children's museum guide, museum quiz and play stations. |
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