German Sport & Olympic Museum

The German Sport & Olympia Museum is a museum in Cologne that presents the history of sports from antiquity to modern times . It is located in Cologne's Rheinauhafen within the Cologne-Altstadt-Süd district .

history

Exterior view of the German Sport & Olympia Museum

Sports field on the roof of the museum

After a first - unsuccessful - attempt in 1972 to build a national sports museum, the German Sports Federation and the National Olympic Committee for Germany confirmed this plan in 1978 by means of corresponding fundamental decisions. Cologne was chosen as the location, where the non-profit "Association of the German Sports Museum" was established on December 16, 1982 to implement this target.

In addition to the two organizations, almost all state sports federations, numerous Olympic professional associations as well as the city of Cologne, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, the German Sport University Cologne and the German Olympic Society joined this organization. The main tasks of the association were to build up an attractive, sports-historical collection and to raise funds for the museum. The technical management was in the hands of Manfred Lämmer , the then head of the Institute for Sports History at the DSHS Cologne.

With the support of the city of Cologne, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal government, a listed, former "Customs Hall 10" in the inner-city Rheinauhafen was acquired by the city's own ports and goods traffic in Cologne and converted into a museum for the new purpose. "Zollhalle 10" was a storage facility built by Bernhard Below in 1898 , which required extensive renovation work. These took place between March 1998 and summer 1999. Additional funds for the interior fittings and in particular the permanent exhibition were provided by the Kreissparkasse Köln and the Stadtsparkasse Köln . This then also suggested the establishment of a non-profit foundation for the operation of the museum with the name "German Sport & Olympia Museum", which was founded on December 15, 1998 in Cologne. In addition to the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB), members of the foundation include almost all state sports associations and over 40 top and sports associations as well as the German Olympic Society (DOG), the German Sporthilfe Foundation , the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the city and the city sports association of Cologne and other sports facilities. The President of the German Basketball Federation Ingo Weiss is chairman of the association and foundation board. He has followed the director since it was founded, Walther Tröger , who headed the museum for many years.

The museum opened on November 26th, 1999. On 2000 m² of exhibition and action area on two floors, various aspects of national, international and Olympic sport are shown in a permanent exhibition and temporary exhibitions. The museum is mainly financed by entrance fees, rental / events and donations. The main donors are the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the German Olympic Sports Confederation. Added to this are the income and surpluses of Deutsche Kultur & Sport Marketing GmbH. It is the museum's exclusive event and marketing company and was founded in 2007.

management

In November 1999 Karlheinz Wiegmann opened the museum as the founding director, followed by Christian Wacker in 2005 . From 2009 to 2012 Frank Dürr took over the management of the house. Wolfgang Lewitzki then acted as acting director. Sports historian Andreas Höfer has been the new museum director since October 2013.

Permanent exhibition

View of the permanent exhibition of the German Sport & Olympia Museum

In addition to different themed rooms (antiquity, German gymnastics, English sports, 1936 Olympic Games , boxing , soccer , 1972 Olympic Games , trend sports, winter sports), the “Timeline” is the central timeline of the permanent exhibition. From workers' sport in the late 19th century to current events, visitors can take a comprehensive look at the world of sport using selected objects, enriched with various hands-on stations that invite you to take part in sporting activities.

collection

Insight into one of four depots of the German Sport & Olympia Museum

In addition to around 2,000 exhibits in the permanent exhibition, the German Sport & Olympia Museum has an inventory of 120,000 objects spread over four depots in the Cologne city area.

In addition to presenting, the main tasks of the museum include collecting, preserving, researching and conveying historical testimonies. The aim of the collection activity is the inclusion of objects relevant to the history of sport, including entire collections and estates, nationally and internationally significant individual items, memorabilia and autographs.

The reflection of current major sporting events such as B. Olympic Games, world championships, European championships and German championships as well as the personalized one-off piece of an athlete flows into the collection.

The main themes of the collection are the Olympic Games, German gymnastics, athletics, football, sports and art, but also sporting developments of fundamental importance.

The museum lends a wide variety of museums and exhibition projects as well as film and television productions.

particularities

The two sports fields on the roof of the museum, where football, tennis or basketball can be played, are considered spectacular. From there you have a view of the Cologne Cathedral , the Severinsbrücke and the Rhine flowing directly alongside the museum .

The museum is located in Cologne city center in the Rheinauhafen in the immediate vicinity of the Imhoff Chocolate Museum . It has around 150,000 visitors annually. In addition to its exhibition and collection tasks, the museum offers event options for associations, businesses and individuals.