Kultur-Schloss Theuern – Bergbau- und Industriemuseum Ostbayern

About the museum

Kultur-Schloss Theuern houses the Mining and Industry Museum of East Bavaria, which was founded in 1972 by the district of Amberg-Sulzbach as a supraregional museum and opened in 1978 in the hammer-master castle built in 1781. The museum's mission is to research, document and present the mining and industry of the entire East Bavarian region. In addition to the castle, the museum grounds include several regionally typical industrial monuments that were relocated to Theuern: an iron hammer works, a functioning grain mill, a glass grinding and polishing works, which since 1996 has also housed the Electricity Museum of East Bavaria (Strommuseum Ostbayern), as well as a headframe with engine house from a mine shaft facility. The museum is part of the Tourism & Culture division of the district of Amberg-Sulzbach. In addition to exhibitions and guided tours, Kultur-Schloss offers events such as readings, music and cabaret as well as rooms for conferences and celebrations. Due to renovation work, the exhibitions will be accessible only as part of guided tours from April 2026.

Site

Kümmersbruck

Processes

Guided tours and excursions, Events (readings, music, cabaret), Conferences/hall rental, Exhibitions, Museum shop (books/publication series), Opening 1978: mining and industry museum in the hammer-master castle, 1996: Opening of the Electricity Museum of East Bavaria in the glass grinding and polishing works

Materials

Mining and industrial history

Certificates

EN 301549 / BITV 2.0 / WCAG 2.1 (web, partially)

Founded

1972

Industries

Museum/Culture, Tourism

1. 01

   Researching

2. 02

   Documenting

3. 03

   Presenting/Exhibiting

4. 04

   Guided tours and events

Collection focus areas

Sites

Kultur-Schloss Theuern (hammer-master castle)

DE

Main site: exhibitions, administration, event and conference rooms

Branch office iron hammer works

DE

Industrial monument, relocated to Theuern

Branch office grain mill

DE

Functioning grain mill

Branch office glass grinding and polishing works

DE

Industrial monument, since 1996 also the Electricity Museum of East Bavaria

Branch office headframe with engine house

DE

Mine shaft facility, industrial monument

Inside the production

Accessibility compliance

The website is largely compliant with EN 301549, BITV 2.0 and WCAG 2.1; exceptions are documented in the accessibility declaration dated 11.06.2025.

History

1. Ende 11.

   Family “von Theuern” first verifiable

2. 1482

   First mention of a castle in Theuern in a source

3. Ende 15.

   Hammer works in Theuern probably present for the first time (not involved in the Große Hammereinung of 1387)

4. Anfang 16.

   Portner family acquires the hammer works and the manor

5. 1682

   Construction of the “Jägerhaus” by Johann Georg Portner

6. Anfang 18.

   Manor passes to the von Lochner zu Hüttenbach family

7. 1780

   Foundation stone laid for the hammer castle on 25 August by Joseph Christian von Lochner (approx. 20,000 gulden, master builder Wolfgang Diller from Amberg)

8. 1781

   Construction of the hammer-master castle

9. 1972

   Foundation of the supraregional mining and industry museum by the district of Amberg-Sulzbach

10. 1978

    Opening of the museum in the hammer-master castle

11. 1996

    Since then, the glass grinding and polishing works has housed the Electricity Museum of East Bavaria