Alte Ziegelei, Industrial heritage museum and cultural center in Mainz, Germany
Alte Ziegelei is a museum and cultural center in Mainz housed in a timber-framed building that displays a collection of over 900 ceramic pieces from different periods. The structure sits above a preserved ring kiln from the industrial era and documents the region's long history of brickmaking.
The museum originated from archaeological findings of Roman bricks and clay pipes discovered and systematically collected by two individuals. Their private interest gradually developed into a public institution that now presents ceramic production across millennia.
The exhibition displays ceramic fragments from various cultures and periods, including pieces with inscriptions and marks left by ancient craftspeople. Visitors can observe how people across millennia personalized their work with stamps or images before firing.
Access to the building involves climbing stairs, and the collection is arranged in a single manageable space, allowing for a leisurely visit without time pressure. Visitors should contact the local cultural administration to confirm exact opening times and whether guided tours are available.
The collection includes bricks with inscriptions and drawings that craftspeople deliberately added before firing their pieces. Among these are also fossilized animal paw prints in ancient materials, showing how workshops and storage areas were once used.
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