Ocean Museum Germany: Who we are
In 1951, a small natural history collection found a new home within the historic walls of St. Catherine’s Monastery in Stralsund, a building that had previously served as a grammar school. What began modestly soon developed into an internationally recognised museum for oceanography and fisheries in the former GDR.
Following the political changes in Germany, the institution was transformed into a foundation under civil law in 1994 and renamed the German Oceanographic Museum in 1998. Today, as Ocean Museum Germany – a name adopted in 2024 – it continues a long tradition of combining scientific exhibitions with living aquaria. These aquaria bring the marine world to life and remain one of the museum’s defining features.
Listed in the Federal Government’s Blue Book of nationally important cultural institutions, Ocean Museum Germany is one of the cultural landmarks of eastern Germany. Only a few museums worldwide are dedicated so comprehensively to the exploration, research and presentation of marine life.
Today, Ocean Museum Germany presents exhibitions and aquaria at four locations and through digital platforms, dedicated to exploring and communicating the marine environment.
Foundation Governance:
- First founder: Hanseatic city of Stralsund
- Second founder: „Förderverein Deutsches Meeresmuseum e. V.“ (Friends of the Ocean Museum Germany e. V.)
- Bodies: Administrative Board, Advisory Board, Board of Directors
- Financing: chiefly from own revenue and from funding
- Remit: promotion of culture, science and research as well as operating the museum as an educational, scientific, cultural, non-profit and national representative institution
- Board of directors: Prof. Dr. Burkard Baschek, Andreas Tanschus
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Governing Bodies
The Board of directors of the Ocean Museum Germany consists of two members with sole power of representation, Prof. Burkard Baschek and Andreas Tanschus.
This Board manages the foundation's affairs.
The Administrative Board supervises the activities of the Board of directors. Its responsibilities include appointing the directors, amending the Articles of Association, setting admission prices, and appointing the members of the Advisory Board.
The Administrative Board is composed as follows:
- The mayor of the Hanseatic City of Stralsund,
- a representative of the Ministry of Science, Culture, Federal and European Affairs of the State of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania,
- a representative of the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM),
- four representatives of the citizens of the Hanseatic City of Stralsund,
- a representative of the „Förderverein Deutsches Meeresmuseum e. V.“ (Friends of the Ocean Museum Germany e. V.) and
- a representative of the Advisory Board.
The Chairman of the Administrative Board is Mayor Dr. Alexander Badrow.
The Advisory Board is responsible for providing the Administrative Board and the Board of Directors with expert advice and support, particularly in scientific matters. The members of the Advisory Board serve in an honorary capacity and are appointed by the Administrative Board from the fields of science, business, administration, and associations.
Prof. Dr. Henning von Nordheim was elected as Chairman.
