The Bayerisches Gewerbemuseum (Bavarian Museum of Applied Arts) was established in 1869 as a private initiative of two Nuremberg industrialists, Lothar von Faber and Theodor von Cramer-Klett.

It was modelled on London’s Victoria & Albert Museum (formerly the South Kensington Museum). The Gewerbemuseum houses about 16,000 objects, while the Design Collection comprises some 1500 objects.

Particularly interesting today is the great number of objects acquired at the World Fairs between 1873 and 1900. The Design Collection is dedicated primarily to objects that were highly influential within European industrial design.