Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum, Sports museum in Altstadt-Süd, Cologne, Germany
The Deutsches Sport & Olympia Museum is a facility in Cologne dedicated to the history of sports around the world, housed in a former customs building. Inside, visitors find exhibition spaces with objects from different sports and time periods, spanning from ancient times to the present day.
A first attempt to found a national sports museum failed in 1972; in 1978 the German Sports Confederation and the National Olympic Committee confirmed the plan and chose Cologne, where the sponsoring association was constituted on 16 December 1982 under Manfred Lämmer. The city, the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the federal government helped buy the listed Zollhalle 10, an 1898 warehouse by Bernhard Below, converted between March 1998 and summer 1999. The operating foundation was founded on 15 December 1998 and the museum opened on 26 November 1999.
The permanent exhibition is organised into themed rooms such as Antiquity, German Gymnastics, English Sport, the 1936 and 1972 Olympic Games, boxing, football, trend sports and winter sports. Its central axis is the "Timeline", running from workers' sport in the late 19th century to current events, with hands-on stations where visitors can try sporting activity themselves.
The museum occupies two floors of the converted Zollhalle 10 in the Rheinauhafen, next to the Imhoff Chocolate Museum. The permanent exhibition is organised around a central timeline running from workers' sport in the late 19th century to recent events, with hands-on stations along the way. The two rooftop sports pitches are reached inside the building.
The roof of the building offers something special: there are real sports fields where visitors can actually try different sports themselves. These fields also offer a clear view of the Rhine and make the museum a place where you can participate, not just observe.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,054 contributors worldwide.
