 | Cologne Imhoff-Stollwerck Chocolate Museum Reviews | Tips 1 - 10 of 37 |  |
A visit to Cologne is not complete without a trip to the chocolate factory/museum. It is quite interesting and the smell is divine.
You can wander around and look at the machinery (where chocolate is actually produced), learn about the history of chocolate production, sample the gloopy liquid chocolate on wafers (which is what's happening in this photo) and finally, spend a small fortune in the chocolate shop, try to resist this as it really is expensive and you can buy the same stuff elsewhere. A few bars of chocolate and a couple of postcards came to 10.70E.
A tiny glass-enclosed *botanical* garden with pond, lillies and cocoa trees is also on the premises and it's extremely warm in there on a hot day!
At the end of your trip there is a small cafe with terrace overlooking the Rhein where you can have a lovely drink in the sunshine.
Please see the website for details of prices and opening times. Our visit was part of an organised group tour. Oh and it is closed on Mondays. Leave a Comment
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For more than 3000 years people have been eating chocolate. The Imhoff-Stollwerck Museum of Chocolate presents an overview of this sweet and tasty history. It starts with the old Mayas of South America, who were the first producers of chocolate. During the European rococo era eating and drinking chocolate was a sign of luxuary life. See old billboards and commercials. But beside the history of chocolate the top attractions of the museum are the tropical room, the production center and the chocolate spring.
The tropical room contains cacao palm trees and other tropical plants. The air is hot and humid in there.
In the production center you can observe the production of chocolate bars or chocolate figures like Santa Claus'.
The chocolate spring is the number one attraction especially for kids. A hostess of the museum holds waffles into the liquid chocolate spring and serves the chocolate waffles to the visitors.
Entry fee for the museum: 5,50 Euro. All signs are in German and English.
For more impressions look at my Chocolate Museum travelogue. Leave a Comment Address: Rheinauhafen 1a, 50678 KoelnPhone: +49 (221) 931 888 0Directions: at the Rhine riverfrontWebsite: www.schokoladenmuseum.de/ Other Contact: service@schokoladenmuseum.de
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We found the museum very interesting and worth a visit.
There is information written in several languages telling you about chocolate production, uses and history.
There are also a lot of exhibits to look at but unfortunately any information on the displays is only written in German.
You proceed to an area showing the different machines used to produce chocolate bars. In this area is the chocolate fountain. Here a lady was dipping wafer biscuits in melted chocolate and handing them to us to sample. I love audience participation, especially when it involves chocolate! Mick went back 4 times!
There is also a shop where you can buy lots of different chocolates and a restaurant that looked as if it served a decent lunch.
It is also a good spot to get a very good view of the Rhine.
I’ve put a few extra pictures in the Cologne travelogue Leave a Comment Address: Rheinauhafen 1A, D-50678 Koln.Phone: 0221 9318880Directions: On the banks of the Rhine.Website: www. schokoladenmuseum.de
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The name Schokoladenmuseum suggests that it's just a museum but it's MUCH more than that. It's actually a complete history and tour through the world of chocolate production from bean to finished product. There's even a hot house where some cocoa plants are being grown.
The first section is an explanation of where and how the beans are grown and harvested. Then you move into the 'factory' part, which is my favourite. All the machinery is behind perspex screens so you can see how it works and watch the chocolate at all stages from grinding the beans at the beginning, to seeing the finished chocolate pieces packaged at the end. There is a 'chocolate fountain' at the far end of the floor where ladies give you a biscuit coated in warm liquid chocolate... delicious!
Upstairs are processes that turn liquid chocolate into hollow eggs, truffles etc. and it's fascinating to see how it's turned in moulds to achieve perfectly hollow shapes. I never before thought about how my chocolate Father Christmas came to be.
Go upstairs again and it brings you to the museum part... a wonderful history of chocolate through the ages, with many fine examples of old packaging, tins, boxes etc. Then on to another section of how chocolate was once used for its medicinal properties and how it became fashionable amongst the upper classes.
When you've completed the museum, go back down to the ground floor and visit the wonderful shop beside the entrance where you can buy every imaginable type of chocolate, all beautifully packaged. The shop is particularly colourful at Christmas time and my particular favourites are the brandy liqueurs.
Also on the ground floor is a cafe where you can relax and watch the river traffic through the glass walls.
Visit the website for full information and some delicious chocolate recipes too. Leave a Comment Address: Am Schokoladenmuseum 1aPhone: 0221/931888-0Directions: Go down to the River Rhine and turn right. It's a large glass building on a promotory on the river itself. You can't miss it. If you don't want to walk there, take the little tourist train from outside the Cologne Dom.Website: http://www.schokoladenmuseum.de/index_e.html
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Looking like a huge ship, the Imhoff-Stollwerck-Museum stands anchored at the entrance to former Rhine harbour. Better known as the Chocolate museum it is worth a short walk along the Rhine to see the museum displays covering all aspects of chocolate, the highlight being the chocolate spring, from which visitors can sample the sweet product.
The building combines parts of the old Customs Office dating from the 19th Century with a modern glass annex.
We wanted only to visit the museum cafeteria but unfortunately it was closed due to some event that was organized there at that time. So we ended just visiting the museum shop where I had to restrict myself only to couple of kilos of different tastes of chocolate ;) Leave a Comment
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Wow! Heaven on earth or what!!!??!
The smell of chocolate hits you as soon as you enter this building, and you pay the 6euro entrance fee just so you can find out where the chocolate is!!Lol....
Its actually a very interesting museum, and as you work your way around you will find out the story of where chocolate comes from, how the cocoa beans are selected, where they grow, how this company advertised throughout the years, there is a tropical garden so that you can experience the heat and humidity that the cocoa bean needs, eventually you will come to where the chocolate is produced, made into all different things, and a big chocolate fountain where you can enjoy the free taster!! Leave a Comment
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I visited Cologne's Chocolate Museum during my visit to the city in July 2006.
Having read that it was similar to "Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory", I expected to be lavished with free chocolate samples. Alas, the only samples were a small chocolate and a wafer dipped in the "chocolate fountain".
The first part of the exhibit provides various information about cocoa (where it is grown, how it is cultivated, what different types are used for making different chocolates...) and there is a temperature controlled tropical greenhouse containing cocoa plants.
Next was a special exhibit, coinciding with Germany hosting the World Cup, showing chocolate bar wrappers, tins and advertisements from around the world which incorporate football team logos and players into their designs.
The museum then opens up into a large production area where you can see the chocolates being produced. These range from small individual chocolates on a conveyor belt to chocolates shaped as bunnies or Father Christmases or footballs using special moulds. Children can design their own pralines to take home with them.
One of the highlights in this part of the museum is the "chocolate fountain" - runny chocolate being produced in a small fountain - but it isn't nearly as impressive as it sounds!
Upstairs, the museum provides a detailed history of chocolate from its beginnings as a luxury drink for society's elite through to its commercialisation as a popular product for the masses. This part of the museum isn't as much fun as watching (and smelling) the chocolates being produced, but it does provide an extensive selection of exhibits. For example, there are displays of crockery from the early days of chocolate production in Central America, there are walls full of chocolate advertisement posters from years gone by and there are biographies of key figures in chocolate's history.
There is a chocolate shop and a cafe on site.
Photography is permitted throughout the museum. Leave a Comment Address: Rheinauhafen 1a, ColognePhone: +49 (0)221 9318880Directions: Located in a glass fronted building on the banks of the Rhine. Prices Adults: 6 Euros / Groups of 15+ = 5.50 Euros Concessions: 3.50 Euros / Groups of 15+ = 3 Euros Opening hours Tues-Fri: 10am-6pm Sat/Sun/Hols: 11am-7pm Closed MondaysWebsite: www.schokoladenmuseum.de Other Contact: servive@schokoladenmuseum.de
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The museum lies on a former-island which is now connected to the City-centre by a Bridge.
The museum-building is in the shape of a big ferry-boat and it is a must to visit. It traces the history of chocolate, from slavery to modern industrial production and includes the chance to taste this sweet brown delicacy fresh from a fantastic liquid chocolate fountain.
It also show modern production methods of various chocolate products. And ofcourse there is a shop where you can buy souvenirs . . . and a refectory!
When I visited in May 2005, there was a Chocolate Art exhibition on as well.
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Great on a day out with the children or if you like me are a bit of a chocoholic :))) The museum includes what they call the world's largest chocolate fountain - a claim I have seen in Scarborough too so who knows, but it is rather impressive and you get to taste the chocolate. There is also a little "rain forest" in the part that shows you how the cocoa beans are produced! If you like old posters and chocolate mechanics, you shouldn't miss the exhibitions on the second floor either. Leave a Comment
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"Food of the Gods" - and a museum for its addicts. Life is all about chocolate.
History, botanical background, myths and stories and legends, production of the raw material and chocolate easter bunnies, bars, and candy. Machines making miracles, and a heavenly chocolate fountain - and yes, you may have a taste! A whole room is dedicated to hot chocolate - how to make it (with chilli!) and which china to drink it from. Old posters and advertising, boxes and wrappings, a cafe and a ( very expensive) shop. I loved the little rainforest with cocoa plants and of course all the stories about Mexico, the Maya, the Aztecs and Olmecs.
Try not to visit on a rainy cold public holiday. It's too full... families and small childs freaking out ;-) First sign of addiction! Leave a Comment Address: Rheinauhafen 1aPhone: 0221 931 888-0Directions: right by the Rhein, walking distance from the cathedralWebsite: www.schookoladenmuseum.de
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