Chocolate Museum in Cologne, thanks to an inventive architect, looks like a ship made of glass and metal, and is located near the Old Town and the cathedral.
In medieval Cologne, on the site of today's Chocolate Museum, there was a trade center for boatmen from the Rhine. Today, the museum is proud of its innovative design in the city's "Rheinauhafen" district. The presentation of the Cologne Chocolate Museum, located in an exhibition area of 4000 square meters, takes you on a journey through the history of chocolate: starting with ancient American cultures, such as the Mayans and Aztecs, through the Baroque and industrialization, to the individual refinement of fine chocolates today. .
The city of Cologne has a large number of museums and galleries, making it an internationally renowned art center. The range of exhibits in the museums of Cologne extends from Roman artifacts in the Roman-Germanic Museum, through medieval art in the Wallraff Richartz Museum & Fondation Corboud, through the treasures of the Far East in the Museum of East Asian Art, to modern art exhibited in the Museum Ludwig and the Museum for Applied Arts. You can also visit the Cologne City Museum to learn more about the city's history. The mentioned museums are only a small sample of the total offer of the City of Museums.
Dr. Hans Imhoff – founder of the Chocolate Museum
Hans Imhoff was born in 1922 as the son of a locksmith in Cologne. As a boy, he lived through the temptations of the smell of chocolate, which came from the nearby Stollverck chocolate factory. In the town of Zunächst in Bullay an der Mosel, Dr. Imhoff founded his own chocolate factory, which was successful after the war. Later, in Cologne, he reorganized the Stollwerck Group and returned it to the position of industry leader.
In 1993, he fulfilled his dream and bequeathed 53 million German marks to the city of Cologne to build "his" Chocolate Museum. This decision happened quite by accident - by a hair's breadth, a large part of the current exhibits almost ended up in the trash in 1975 during the relocation of the Stollwerck company to Cologne-Porz. Many large boxes whose contents were considered "trash" and "leftovers" had to be thrown away. Dr. Hans Imhoff looked in more detail at the mentioned boxes, with the alleged shards, and found the museum's treasure.
After moving to the new building in Porz, Imhoff instructed the art historian and museum curator, Professor Vaclav Hepner, to list and organize the Museum's presentation. At that time, the main emphasis of the collection was on exhibits documenting the history of the Stollverck company. Later, the concept of the Museum was significantly expanded. Exhibits dealing with the culture and history of industrial chocolate production have also been collected.
Dr. Hans Imhoff died in Cologne on December 21.12.2007, XNUMX.
Gerburg Clara Imhoff
"As the general director, I try to preserve my husband's legacy and make the Museum modern. In the future, the Museum of Chocolate and its staff will make strides, so that the unique story of this success continues".
Museum exhibition
The museum was founded to be an interactive experience. The presentation starts with images of cacao plants and guides the visitor through the entire production process from bean to finished product. Large color photos, accompanied by explanations in German and English, show everything about growing and harvesting, various types of cacao, the fermentation process.
Visitors can also enter a small greenhouse, where the conditions are actually tropical, and see what cacao plants look like in their natural habitat.
Chocolate machines are very unique and cannot be changed easily. The slightest change in the process can cause a large deviation in the finished product. Visitors have the opportunity to see all the machines up close, in action.
One of the favorite moments of every visitor to this Museum is when they try a biscuit dipped in warm chocolate mass in the "chocolate fountain".
Although the Museum was not designed to produce chocolate, it does so, but only for demonstration purposes, producing only 400 kilograms of chocolate per day. The main mission of the Museum is to show and explain little-known facts about how this favorite delicacy was created.
You will also need to remember the fact that chocolate should never be kept in the refrigerator, as this kills the natural flavors and degrades the quality.
Very interesting are the settings of old candy packaging, reminders of the advertisements of chocolate manufacturers that are several decades old. For older visitors, this will awaken memories of unforgettable moments of youth and some forgotten tastes...
Finally, at the very exit, don't forget to visit the shop, which is abundantly stocked with a wide range of cocoa and chocolate products. Something for everyone!
The ticket for adults is EUR 9.
Cologne Chocolate Museum GmbH
Am chocolate museum 1a
50678 Cologne
Phone: +49 – 221-931 888-0
Fax: +49 – 221-931 888-14
[email protected]
www.schokoladenmuseum.de
Cologne, June 2014.
text & video by Miodrag Ilić
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