Augsburg textile and industry museum

The State Textile and Industry Museum Augsburg, universally known by its acronym tim, is a museum of industrial and textile history located in Augsburg, a city in south-west Bavaria, Germany. Opened on 20 January 2010, it is the first state museum of Swabia and operates as a subordinate authority of the Bavarian State Ministry of Science and Research. The museum is housed in the Augsburger Kammgarnspinnerei, a former worsted spinning mill that was once the largest of its kind in the Federal Republic of Germany. As an Anchor point on the European Route of Industrial Heritage, the tim presents itself as a cultural history museum and a laboratory of the modern age, using the example of Bavaria's textile industry to explore the transformation of a state into a modern industrial society.

The museum's origins lie in private civic initiative rather than government planning. In 1996, as Augsburg's textile industry faced severe crisis and numerous firms collapsed, the Verein zur Förderung eines Industriemuseums in Augsburg e. V. was formed by former textile workers determined to rescueaufbewahren redundant equipment. That same year, the Stadtsparkasse Augsburg purchased the pattern books of the Neue Augsburger Kattunfabrik (NAK), preventing their transfer to the Far East, a collection now recognised as German cultural heritage. After prolonged negotiations, a fundamental agreement was reached in 2001 between the Free State of Bavaria, the city of Augsburg, and the district of Schwaben. Richard Loibl became the first museum director and began preparatory work. The city purchased part of the AKS factory buildings in 2003, followed by an architectural competition in 2004 and interior design commissioning in 2005. Groundbreaking for construction and renovation took place on 30 July 2007, with the Grazer architect Klaus Kada leading the transformation of a production hall and the Stuttgart atelier Brückner handling interior design. Total investment costs reached approximately 21 million euros, with the city contributing 11 million, the state of Bavaria six million in grants, and the district of Schwaben four million. Karl Borromäus Murr succeeded as director in April 2009. After a construction-related delay postponed the planned September 2009 opening, the museum was inaugurated on 20 January 2010 with a state reception hosted by Bavarian Science Minister Wolfgang Heubisch. Visitor numbers surpassed 10,000 within three weeks.

The tim's collection remit encompasses the collection, preservation, and research of all material evidence of Bavaria's textile industry in an exemplary manner, with a chronological span from the 18th to the 20th century. The permanent exhibition occupies approximately 2,500 square metres and is organised around four thematic pillars expressed as Mensch, Maschine, Muster, and Mode, human, machine, pattern, and fashion. The museum traces the complete production cycle from raw materials through spinning, weaving, printing, and finishing to finished garments and designer fashion. This scope includes the social history of industrialisation, documenting how the lives of workers, entrepreneurs, and bankers were radically transformed, as well as the technical evolution of textile manufacturing from hand looms to power looms and contemporary high-tech machinery. The museum also maintains a forward-looking perspective, presenting developments in intelligent clothing, artificial muscle, and carbon fibre products that represent future directions for the Bavarian textile economy. Interactive and hands-on elements are integral to the museum's approach, including operational machinery that produces limited-run contemporary fabrics and a dedicated museum trail for children where young visitors can weave, knit, and print.

The undisputed centerpiece of the tim's holdings is the NAK sample book, the unique fabric pattern archive of the Neue Augsburger Kattunfabrik. Comprising over 550 pattern books containing more than 1.3 million fabric designs spanning from the 1780s to the 1990s, this collection documents over two centuries of textile design and fashion production in Augsburg. The museum presents these light-sensitive volumes through an innovative installation designed by Atelier Brückner: digitised patterns are projected onto three interactive figures, the Graces, each over four metres in height, allowing visitors to visualise the fabrics in three dimensions. The museum's working machinery includes historic weaving looms that produce the traditional Schlosserhandtuch and the Fugger-Barchent, alongside modern high-tech textile machines that manufacture limited-edition Frottier souvenir towels with exclusive designs by a Brazilian textile designer. A dedicated catwalk displays garments ranging from Biedermeier to Strenesse clothing, covering two centuries of fashion and costume history. An enlarged 35-square-metre city plan from 1874 enables visitors to walk measured paces between textile factories and other enterprises of that era. The museum also holds an original Biedermeier dress, acquired through sponsorship in 2007.

The museum is situated in the Augsburger Kammgarnspinnerei (AKS), a former worsted spinning mill located in Augsburg's textile quarter at Provinostraße 46. Founded in 1836 by Johann Anton Friedrich Merz, the AKS was the first major industrial company in Augsburg, employing up to 2,000 workers at its peak and serving as the largest worsted spinning mill in the Federal Republic of Germany until its closure in 2004. The museum occupies a renovated production hall within the complex of historic saw-tooth roofed buildings. The architectural renovation by Klaus Kada from Graz, Austria, preserved the authentic industrial atmosphere while adapting the spaces for museum use. The interior design by the Stuttgart atelier Brückner created exhibition environments that maintain the building's historical character. The original factory structure, with its distinctive saw-tooth roofs, provides an atmospheric setting that contextualises the exhibits within their authentic industrial heritage. The site includes barrier-free access via two passenger and one freight elevator serving all exhibition levels, as well as disabled parking spaces on the museum grounds.

The State Textile and Industry Museum Augsburg is located at Provinostraße 46, 86153 Augsburg, and is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9am to 6pm, with Monday closure. The museum observes extended opening on numerous public holidays including Epiphany, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Ascension Day, Whit Monday, Corpus Christi, Augsburger Hohes Friedensfest (8 August), Assumption Day, Day of German Unity, All Saints' Day, and Boxing Day. It is closed on New Year's Day, Shrove Tuesday, Labour Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve. Admission to the permanent exhibition is 5 euros regular, 4 euros discounted, and 1 euro on Sundays. A combined ticket for permanent and special exhibitions costs 9 euros regular and 7 euros reduced. Machine demonstrations in the permanent exhibition are offered several times daily for an additional 1.50 euros. Free admission applies to children and teenagers under 18, school classes and youth groups from EU member states when accompanied, ICOM members with membership card, journalists with press pass, and numerous other categories. Guided tours are available in German, English, French, Italian, and Spanish, with workshops on printing, felting, and paper dress. The museum includes barrier-free access, disabled toilets, and a restaurant, nunó staffed Tuesday to Sunday from 10am to 5pm. Photography is not permitted in the museum due to copyright restrictions.