Mulhouse was one of the great centres of the European textile industry, and this museum — the Fabric Printing Museum — is the best record of that heritage anywhere in the world. The collection holds over six million fabric samples dating from the eighteenth century to the present, representing every technique of fabric printing from hand-block printing to digital inkjet. Some of the archive is so extensive it takes up rooms of its own.
The permanent collection traces the history of textile design and printing with original machinery, pattern books, and thousands of printed samples organised by period and technique. Temporary exhibitions tend to be thoughtfully done, often collaborating with contemporary designers. If you have any interest in textile, design, fashion history, or the industrial heritage of Alsace, this museum is exceptional.