The Grassi Museum is a large complex with three independent collections: a museum of musical instruments, an applied arts museum and an ethnographic museum.
The museum was founded by a local businessman of Italian origin, Franz Dominic Grassi. Before his death in 1880 he bequeathed two million marks to his worthy enterprise. It happened so that his collection continued to grow in three main dimensions, and thus three museums were created. The earliest of the unique musical instruments date back to 16th c. The museum of applied arts store over 90 thousand works of Leipzig artisans: glass-makers, woodcutters, and watchmakers. A collection of old watches never fails to attract the attention of tourists. Finally, the ethnographic museum showcases books, furniture, clothes, paintings and personal belongings of Leipzig citizens.