The Zuse Computer Museum ZCOM, located in Hoyerswerda, could be closed at the end of the year. Following the withdrawal of support from the municipal housing company, which provides the premises, the city administration has placed the financial support for the “Konrad Zuse City” on the agenda of a city council meeting. If it is withdrawn, the ZCOM Foundation would have to throw in the towel. It has been operating the ZCOM since 2017 and relies on subsidies. Instead of the planned 20 to 25,000 visitors per year, the extensive collection is only visited by around 10,000 paying individuals.
As “Hoyerswerda lebt“ reports, the subsidies for the ZCOM, which opened in January 2017, are on the city council's agenda. If they are cut, the museum faces closure unless a “white knight” is found, writes the city magazine. At the end of 2026, the municipal housing company had already cut its subsidy of 110,000 euros per year.
The original ZCOM was established in 1995 as a small exhibition when Konrad Zuse received honorary citizenship of the city of Hoyerswerda. It had to close in 2013 and was reopened in spacious rooms in 2017 thanks to the support of the housing company. The ZCOM displays the Zuse computers Z11, Z22, Z22r, Z23, and Z25, as well as many Robotron exhibits as computing technology from the GDR, as used in the “Energy City Hoyerswerda” for open-cast mining.
In addition, the museum provides information about computer pioneer Nikolaus Joachim Lehmann, who was born in Lusatia.
( dahe)
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This article was originally published in
It was translated with technical assistance and editorially reviewed before publication.
