ZCOM Zuse-Computer-Museum

It’s impossible to imagine life without computers now. But how did their incredible history begin? With the knowledge we have today it’s difficult to imagine how Konrad Zuse and his colleagues approached their early digital machine: Which material would work well? Was memory relay the right choice? Was it madness to use a binary system?

Computer pioneer Konrad Zuse wasn’t born in Hoyerswerda and nor did he die here. But the few years he did spend here as a teenager in the 1920s (he studied for his university entrance exams in Hoyerswerda) were enough for the town to make him an honorary citizen in 1995, and in 2017 a museum named after him was opened.

The ZCOM invites you to dive into the fascinating history of the computer. On the way you’ll encounter inventions and bright minds like Konrad Zuse and Nikolaus Joachim Lehmann. You’ll discover Zuse not only invented the first computer, but was also a keen artist.

Be blown away by the sheer size of the old Zuse computer. Experience the computer’s lightning-quick evolution, and find out about all the possibilities and risks of our digital world. You’ll learn about the advantages of binary code, too, but don’t worry – it won’t get too theoretical! We combine technology with society and art, and ask how and why. The new, state-of-the-art permanent exhibition at the ZCOM Zuse-Computer-Museum is waiting to tell you all about the unbelievable success story of the computer.