Museum for Communication Frankfurt

The Museum für Kommunikation (MfK) is a museum dedicated to the history of communication in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Located on the Museumsufer (Museum Riverbank), it opened on 31 January 1958 as the Bundespostmuseum (National Postal Museum) and now operates under the Museum Trust for Post and Telecommunications. Its collection traces human communication from ancient cuneiform tablets to contemporary digital technology, housed in a distinctive glass building designed by Günter Behnisch.

The museum's origins lie in the Reichspostmuseum, founded in Berlin in 1872 by Heinrich von Stephan. This collection was evacuated during World War II; while much remained in Berlin and was destroyed, surviving objects were moved to Schloss Waltershausen and later transferred to Frankfurt in 1951. The founding of Deutsche Bundespost in 1954 provided impetus for a new federal postal museum, with Frankfurt chosen over competing cities including Bonn, West Berlin, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, and Düsseldorf. The museum was inaugurated on 31 January 1958 by Federal Postal Minister Richard Stücklen, after an initial 1955 opening was delayed due to tenancy disputes at the Villa de Neufville on Schaumainkai. Until 1994, the museum belonged to Deutsche Bundespost and was supervised by the Federal Ministry for Posts and Telecommunications. The completion of German postal reform and the privatization of Deutsche Bundespost directly influenced the museum's transformation and renaming. Since 1995, it has formed part of the Museum Trust for Post and Telecommunications, a public-law foundation supported by Deutsche Post and Deutsche Telekom through a public-private partnership.

The permanent exhibition occupies the underground level and is organized around 44 thematic islands illustrating the development of communication through four central phenomena: acceleration, networking, control, and participation. Displays span from cuneiform tablets to data glasses, encompassing mail, telegraph, telephone, radio, television, and computers. The collection grew from Heinrich von Stephan's original Berlin holdings, expanded by Deutsche Bundespost from 1958. Interview stations in the basement present '21 Köpfe denken Zukunft' (21 Heads Think Future), offering perspectives on digitalization. In December 2025, a thematic island on artificial intelligence was added, featuring the 'Talking Painting,' a language model based on Alan Turing that allows visitors to ask questions about AI. The museum also maintains art collections and hosts temporary exhibitions.

The museum's art rooms hold permanent displays of works by Salvador Dalí, Joseph Beuys, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Markus Lüpertz, and Brigitte Kowanz. Smaller special exhibitions are held in these spaces. The 'Talking Painting,' an interactive AI installation based on Alan Turing, serves as a centerpiece of the artificial intelligence extension.

The present building opened in 1990 and was designed by Stuttgart architect Günter Behnisch. Its modern, transparent glass architecture signaled a substantive reorientation and modernization of the museum, leading directly to its renaming as the Museum für Kommunikation. The main entrance, information desk, museum shop, and café are located on the ground floor. The first floor contains a children's exhibition area, while temporary exhibitions occupy provisional space on the second floor. The museum's depot is located at Sammlungsstandort Heusenstamm, Philipp-Reis-Straße 4-8.

The Museum für Kommunikation is situated on Frankfurt's Museumsufer, the museum embankment along the Main River. It is one of three sister institutions, alongside the Museum of Communication in Nuremberg and the Museum für Kommunikation Berlin. The museum is managed by the Museum Trust for Post and Telecommunications, which was established in 1995. Visitors can access information through the museum's official website at www.mfk-frankfurt.de.