European Museum of the Year

At the European Museum of the Year Award Ceremony on Saturday 22nd of May, in front of an audience of more than 160 museum professionals from 22 European countries, the Ozeaneum Museum in Stralsund, Germany was announced as the winner of the European Museum of the Year Award for 2010.

Visitors queue in front of the maritime museum 'Ozeaneum' in Stralsund, Germany. The rather cold weather has boosted visitor numbers to more than 1,000 per day. The Ozeaneum has been awarded the European Museum of the Year award, which was handed over in Tampere, Finnland on 22 May 2010. EPA/STEFAN SAUER.

Mikhail Gnedovsky, Chairman of the European Museum Forum (EMF) which gives the European Museum of the Year Award, in congratulating the museum said: "Ozeaneum has succeeded brilliantly in interpreting its scientific data in a clear way to make it understandable to a wide range of visitors, and uses many visual images which will be long remembered. The main award goes to a museum which contributes most directly to attracting and satisfying its visitors with unique atmosphere, imaginative interpretation and presentation, creative approach to education and social responsibility."

Receiving special commendations were the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels, the Science Gallery in Dublin, and the Jewish Historical Museum in Amsterdam.

This is the 33rd year that the European Museum Forum has run the competition, which is the premier museum award in Europe. The EMF also judged the Council of Europe's annual museum prize, which went to the Museum of Portimao in Portugal.

Ozeaneum in Stralsund, Germany opened in July 2008. This is the fourth part of the complex belonging to the German Oceanographic Museum. The five exhibition areas are complemented by a series of aquarium, which show the extraordinary variety and diversity of life in the North Sea, the Baltic, and the North Atlantic. Among the organizations that have co-operated to create the exhibitions is Greenpeace. Ozeaneum clearly introduces a new language and continues an already visible trend: aquarium are coming closer to museums every day and vice verse. In making its decision, the EMF judges recognized that Ozeaneum represents a new step, combining aquarium and zoos on the one hand with modern scientific museums on the other.

Stralsund in Germany - the medieval town in Northern Germany attracts its visitors with an historical city center which reminds on the time after the Thirty year's war when Stralsund in Germany has been under Swedish control. Imposing churches and great houses of typical red brick gothic gabled architecture let you imagine how powerful Stralsund was once as a member of the Hanseatic League.

The Altstadt (Old town) of Stralsund Germany which became UNESCO World Heritage in 2002, is effectively on its own island, surrounded by lakes and the Baltic Sea. The very heart of Stralsund in Germany is Alter Markt (Old Market Square) with the 13th century Rathaus (Town Hall), famous for its distinctive arcades. Start here for a nice city sightseeing tour to see the gates at the amazing city's wall and sights like Church St.Nikolai, the Gothic Wulflamhaus and the Baroque Commandantenhaus, seat of the old Swedish command headquarters. A visit to Stralsund would not be complete without a trip to the harbor - old brick warehouses, the obligatory waterside bars and restaurants and even a theater which gives performances in the summer - that all make the harbor of Stralsund Germany a real attraction.

Posted by andrew, May 26, 2010. Post has 1 comments.
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