Museumsdruckerei Hoya „Zwiebelfisch“

About the museum

The collection goes back to the elementary school teacher Michael Linke, who in 1993 began setting and printing a school newspaper with pupils in Wechold. Together with his wife Sylke, he gathered presses, type cases, and typefaces from abandoned print shops all over Germany in the following years and taught himself the craft. From the end of the 1990s, the steadily growing collection stood in the old rectory on Kirchstraße in Hoya, where it was already accessible as a museum.

When the couple wanted to sell the rectory, they offered the print shop to the town of Hoya, which provided rooms in the former dairy on Lindenallee for it. In 2019 interested people came together to accompany the transition of the private collection into a museum print shop; this gave rise to the association Museumsdruckerei Hoya "Zwiebelfisch," named after a term from typesetters' jargon for a printing error. After the renovation, the museum print shop has been open to the public again since September 2022.

On roughly 150 square meters it shows letterpress presses, a typesetting shop, and Linotype typesetting machines, which are not only displayed but demonstrated in operation. Guests can set type and print themselves under guidance. A focus is work with school classes, for example the book project "Marions Kieselsteine" about the Holocaust survivor Marion Blumenthal-Lazan, which young people from Hoya completed in 2023.

Highlights

• Linotype typesetting machines in operation
• Toggle press from 1866 from Berlin
• Set type and print yourself under guidance
• Printing cylinder from the last hot-metal edition of the Weser-Kurier from 1984
• Typewriter stations and tools for linocuts

Operated by

Museumsdruckerei Hoya „Zwiebelfisch“ e. V.

Admission & discounts

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible: no information
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

One of the ten workstations is wheelchair-accessible.

Kids & families

• Hands-on stations

Visitors can set type and print themselves, write on typewriters, or work with a pen and slate.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit