A little history of the typewriter

The Typewriter Museum is situated in the historic centre of Partschins, a small village not far from the city of Merano. It was built by the municipality to honour its most famous citizen, the inventor of the typewriter Peter Mitterhofer. With over 2,000 objects it holds one of the world’s largest collections of antique typewriters, giving a full description of their historical development.

Visitors can experience over a hundred years of social and technological history, starting with Mitterhofer’s invention back in 1864 and all the way up to our digital era. Learn more about the famous Enigma cipher machine and find out about the work of the first female secretaries.

Numerous historical posters, postcards and dioramas complete the exhibition. Try out some of the typewriters yourself and follow the fascinating audio-guided tour.

Kurt Ryba is the “father” of the typewriters on display. He describes himself as having been born with two passions: one for collecting and one for computers. After a long period spent studying and working abroad, he returned to Bolzano in 1984 to set up a small IT company. From these small yet adventurous beginnings arose one of the leading lights of the Italian IT sector. The exhibits in this museum, including numerous precious, sometimes unique and rare machines, are the result of his continuing, passionate worldwide research.

Mo 14-18

Tu-Fr 10-12 14-18

Sa 10-12

every first Sunday each month 14-18 h, free entry