Nick Jones, Football Museum Officer and Jonathan Gammond, Access & Interpretation Officer at Wrexham Museum/Football Museum for Wales travelled to Cologne and Dortmund in July 2022 with an ICOM UK – British Council Travel Grant. This is a short blog from their visit. The full report from their visit will be published next week.
Wrexham County Borough Museum & Archives in North Wales is currently planning for a re-development which will see the building become a new ‘Museum of Two Halves’ in 2025. This will encompass a reimagined Wrexham Museum and brand new (national) Football Museum for Wales, in the spiritual home of Welsh football.
In the UK we currently have the National Football Museum (England) based in Manchester (opened in 2012, previously in Preston 2001-2010), which I am familiar with having worked there for a number of years previous to my current role. There is also the Scottish Football Museum in Glasgow (opened in 1994, moved to Hampden Park in 2001), which I am in touch with.
To further build on learning gained from our UK colleagues it was felt that a visit to an international football museum would be beneficial. The German Football Museum in Dortmund is highly regarded (perhaps second only to the FIFA Museum in Zurich) and opened more recently, in 2015.
A colleague (the museum’s Access & Interpretation Officer) and I flew from Manchester to Cologne on 13 July, before travelling to Dortmund by train the following day.
The museum is a large purpose-built modern facility, opposite Dortmund’s main railway station and charges a walk up entry price of 19 euros for an adult.
We were met at the museum by Malte von Pidoll (Head of Exhibition & Formats) who, after introductions, proceeded to take us on a tour of the museum, with the purpose of explaining the ideas and thinking behind the galleries.
The top floor of the museum is dedicated to the storied history of the men’s and women’s national teams. It begins with a display of the eleven male players who featured in the first World Cup final victory of 1954, with the match ball included, the German national anthem playing emotively in the background.
Further World Cup victories for the men’s team are given equal prominence (1974 and 1990) as are European Championship triumphs.
It was pleasing to see a detailed history of the women’s national team and impressive display of eight European Championship trophies and two World Cups.
This top floor also featured a timeline from the birth of the German Football Association to the present day, including an object for each year.
The men’s team won a fourth World Cup in 2014 which posed a challenge to the team who had to alter their plans significantly to ensure this story was told when the museum opened a year later. The results included an impressive film show projected onto a huge football (as shown in the image).
The ‘second half’ of the museum told the stories of German club football from the regional leagues to the establishment of the Bundesliga in 1963 and subsequent growth. There were also some excellent displays relating to fan culture, a key component of German football.
The museum concluded with a large open area, for temporary exhibitions, event hire and 5-a-side football!
We had a fantastic visit, spending all day at the museum. It was great to hear Malte’s insight and also to have time for a personal look around in the afternoon.
Our visit concluded with a train trip back to Cologne and some local speciality dishes in a restaurant that evening!
