Kütahya Tile Museum: Ceramics in a Germiyanid Imaret

On this page

1. What is the Kütahya Tile Museum?
2. How do you get to the Kütahya Tile Museum?
3. When is the best time to visit the Kütahya Tile Museum?
4. What is the history of the Kütahya Tile Museum?
5. What is the Kütahya Tile Museum famous for?
6. What can you see at the Kütahya Tile Museum?
7. Frequently asked questions about the Kütahya Tile Museum
8. What do the official records say about the Kütahya Tile Museum?

What is the Kütahya Tile Museum?

The Kütahya Tile Museum (Kütahya Çini Müzesi) occupies the imaret, or public kitchen, of the complex built by Yakup II, the last ruler of the Germiyanid principality, in the centre of Kütahya. The building dates from 1411–1412, and the 2002 provincial inventory singles the museum out as one of the very few devoted entirely to tiles anywhere.

For a city whose name is almost synonymous with hand-painted ceramics, it is the obvious starting point: the collection traces tile and pottery making in Anatolia and especially the Kütahya tradition, which has continued without a break for centuries and is still practised in workshops around the city.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism restored the imaret and the tomb of its founder and opened them as the Tile Museum in 1999. The provincial directorate describes it as the first and only tile museum in Türkiye.

How do you get to the Kütahya Tile Museum?

The museum is in the historic centre, next to the Great Mosque (Ulu Camii) and the Vacidiye Madrasa, which houses the Archaeological Museum. It is within walking distance of Germiyan Street and the path up to Kütahya Castle. From Kütahya’s bus station or railway station, take a taxi or city bus to the centre.

Tours in Anatolia

−5% Istambul readers save 5% on every tour below — applied at checkout.

See all tours

Partner listings via GetYourGuide · free cancellation on most

When is the best time to visit the Kütahya Tile Museum?

Any time of year; it is an indoor visit and a good choice on a cold or rainy day. Opening hours change through the year, so check them before you visit (Kütahya Culture and Tourism Directorate). Combine it with the Archaeological Museum next door and a walk through the tile shops of the centre.

What is the history of the Kütahya Tile Museum?

The Germiyanids ruled much of western Anatolia from Kütahya in the 14th and early 15th centuries. Their last ruler, Yakup II (1387–1429), built a complex in his capital, and its imaret was constructed in 1411–1412. After Yakup’s death the principality passed to the Ottomans, who took Kütahya permanently in 1428.

According to the Kütahya Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, Yakup Çelebi commissioned the complex in 1411. It originally included an imaret, a madrasa, a mosque, a library and a bath. The madrasa has since been demolished; its foundation inscription is now displayed to the left of the museum entrance. The imaret and the founder’s tomb survived and were restored for the museum, which opened in 1999.

Kütahya itself became one of the great ceramic centres of the Ottoman world, supplying tiles and faience for buildings across the Middle East. In the 19th century Armenian potters dominated much of the production, and the blue-and-white ware known from a dated ewer as “Abraham of Kütahya” is among the best-known early pieces.

What is the Kütahya Tile Museum famous for?

• Kütahya tiles and ceramics from several centuries.
• A Germiyanid building of 1411–1412.
• The tiled sarcophagus of Yakup Çelebi, the last Germiyanid ruler.
• The 1766 agreement of the coffee-cup makers with their journeymen, which the directorate describes as the earliest collective labour agreement in history.

What can you see at the Kütahya Tile Museum?

The building. The museum is entered through a domed central hall with a şadırvan (fountain), which is why the building is also known as Gök Şadırvan. Three domed iwans and two rooms open off the hall.

The tomb of Yakup Çelebi. The founder’s sarcophagus, covered in tiles, lies in the tomb section.

The collection. Ceramics made in Kütahya and İznik are displayed in chronological order from the 14th century to the present: architectural tiles, tile inscriptions, vases, plates, wall panels and household objects (Kütahya Culture and Tourism Directorate).

The inscriptions. At the entrance stands a large stone inscription from the time of Yakup Çelebi, and the museum displays the text of the 1766 agreement between the coffee-cup makers of Kütahya and their journeymen. The 2002 provincial inventory reminds visitors that the world’s first collective labour agreement was signed in Kütahya.

Next door. The Great Mosque and the Vacidiye Madrasa of 1314, home of the Kütahya Archaeological Museum, stand beside the Tile Museum.

Frequently asked questions about the Kütahya Tile Museum

What do the official records say about the Kütahya Tile Museum?

The Tile Museum, the imaret section of the complex of the Germiyanid ruler Yakup II (1387–1429), was built in 1411–1412. The Kütahya Archaeological Museum is next to the Great Mosque, in the building known as the Vacidiye Madrasa; the madrasa was built in 1314 by Umur bin Savcı of the Germiyan principality, with the poll tax of Alaşehir.

While touring Kütahya, one should not forget that the first and only tile museum in Europe and the world is in Kütahya. (Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Kütahya Provincial Tourism Inventory, 2002)