Mission Statement

The Gutenberg Museum is one of the world's oldest and leading museums of the history of books, printing, and script with a focus on the revolutionary invention of European letterpress printing. What is more, as a "World Museum of the Art of Printing", it contains exhibits that originate from far beyond Europe from China, Korea, Japan, and the Arab World, taking into account all global cultures.

The key elements of our mission focus on the legacy of Johannes Gutenberg and his main accomplishment, the Gutenberg Bible ("B42"), of which the museum owns two famous copies, presenting exceptional collections of international book culture, and making the Gutenberg galaxy accessible to current generations via innovative exhibitions, research projects, and facilitation offers. We operate at the interface of contemporary art and design, which is why we established in 2010/11 a typography section as an additional focal point. As a treasury of the "black art", we want to encourage reflection on our (digital) information age, offer art and knowledge spaces, and preserve an invaluable part of the world's cultural legacy. 

The Gutenberg Museum and its workshops, the Gutenberg workshop and print shop, in addition to the Gutenberg library are international hubs. People from more than 70 nations visit our premises annually, which is evidence of our global standing.  We consider our exhibitions and projects to be cross-cultural invitations for communication, reflection, and dialog. Our ambitious work at this unique institution steeped in tradition at the cradle of European letterpress printing facilitates esthetic experiences and conveys both continuity and innovation in the areas of script, typography, printing, and books in general.