Tile Museum
Tiles and their workmanship as from 1900
in examples for experts and laymen
Since the move of Fliesenhandel Schittek GmbH in 2007 we have installed a museum on the first floor of our new building. The exhibition shows the development of the German tile culture from 1900 up to now. Tiles from the decorative periods of the Wilhelminian style, Art Nouveau, and Art Déco to the colorfully decorated tiles of the German Economic Miracle period up to the seventies, as well as the large industrial tiles of today.
Among the exhibits are detailed examples of completely fitted bathrooms. Bathrooms from around 1900 with copper boilers, gas boilers and the original sanitary installations, as well as from the fifties in pink and grey, and from the colorful seventies and eighties.
Apart from the different fashions of the fittings and tiles, also tools and workmanship of the tiler are shown and explained to the visitor.
The exhibition comprises tools and equipment of the craftsmen of the past, payrolls, collective agreements, catalogues, master craftsmen’s diplomas, and a collection of expert books. Furthermore, a big Meissen tiled stove is displayed as well as a fully functioning Hamburg tiled kitchen stove in a typical cosy kitchen.
The collection also comprises historical tiles from the pre-industrial period, art tiles (e.g. from Salvador Dali, Hilde Hamann, and Konrad Schittek), architectural ceramics by Richard Kuöhl, and mosaics by the world famous company Puhl & Wagner from Berlin.
What is so special about this exhibition is the integration within our practical operation of replacement tiles. Downstairs the craftsmen are buying various old tiles which often are so antique that you can find them in the museum upstairs.
The museum is incorporated into our operation.
Open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Admission is free!