Press Releases
Please find detailed press releases about the museum locations of the Ocean Museum Germany below. They are intended to give a quick overview of the museum’s development since its opening until now.
All press releases can also be downloaded from the menu on the page’s right.
(Last updated: May 2025) In 1951, the rather small collection of Stralsund’s Natural History Museum took residence in the premises of St. Catherine’s monastery. The institution soon became an internationally renowned museum for oceanography and GDR fishery. With the travelling exhibition Sea and Museum, the most visited museum in East Germany (1981) gained attention beyond the country’s borders – including in West Germany and Denmark.
Following reunification, the institution was transformed into a foundation in 1994 and, four years later, renamed Deutsches Meeresmuseum (Ocean Museum Germany). Its success has long rested on the synergy of marine research and the communication of knowledge to a wide audience. Today, the Ocean Museum Germany presents scientific exhibitions and aquaria in four locations as well as through its online channels. Recognised in the Federal Government's Blue Book as one of the cultural beacons of eastern Germany, it remains one of very few museums worldwide to dedicate solely and in such a comprehensive manner to the study and public presentation of the marine environment.
From the original MEERESMUSEUM located in Stralsund’s historic old town, two further locations were established in the 1990s. The NATUREUM, located in the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park at Darßer Ort, has showcased the region’s landscapes and wildlife since 1991. The NAUTINEUM followed in 1999 on the island of Dänholm between Stralsund and Rügen, offering exhibitions on fisheries, marine research, hydrography and sea routes. Today this location serves exclusively as a collections centre, housing a laboratory for marine animal research and the museum’s specialist preparation workshop.
A milestone came in 2008 with the opening of the state-of-the-art OZEANEUM on Stralsund’s harbour island. Its exhibitions include the largest Baltic Sea display in Europe, alongside two extensive aquarium tours featuring the underwater worlds of the northern seas. In 2009, the Ocean Museum Germany welcomed more than 1.2 million visitors, ranking third among Germany’s most visited museums. The following year, the OZEANEUM received the prestigious title of European Museum of the Year 2010.
Since 2020, the MEERESMUSEUM has undergone a comprehensive modernisation to bring its exhibitions and aquaria up to contemporary standards, ensuring full accessibility, energy efficiency and modern appeal. The museum reopened to visitors on 17 July 2024 with a new exhibition trail exploring the origins of life in the sea, the diversity of marine species, the complex interplay between humans and the oceans, and strategies for sustainable fisheries. On 5 May 2025, the new aquarium tour – comprising 31 tanks – was inaugurated, inviting guests to discover the habitats of tropical seas. Together, the MEERESMUSEUM and the OZEANEUM now provide a rich and complementary programme dedicated to the world’s oceans.
In addition to exhibitions and aquaria, the museum’s core responsibilities include collecting, conserving and conducting research. Curators and scientific staff work continuously on current projects, collections and object preservation. The museum’s collection of skeletons documents native small whales and rare visitors in the Baltic Sea, while thousands of preserved fish, crustaceans, birds and molluscs serve as an essential foundation for research.
Until 1989, contributions to the collections primarily stemmed from the crews of the GDR’s fishing and merchant fleets. Two collecting expeditions to the Red Sea in 1976 and 1979 alone yielded more than 6,000 samples, enabling the MEERESMUSEUM to present a unique reconstruction of a tropical coral reef. In recent decades, scientific expeditions have taken researchers to the Mediterranean Sea, Taiwan, Sudan, the Maldives, Antarctica and the deep-sea coral habitats off the Norwegian coast.
Since 1980, the Ocean Museum Germany has systematically recorded strandings of marine mammals, particularly harbour porpoises, along the German Baltic Sea coast. These data provide invaluable insights into the distribution of marine mammals. In addition, reported sightings are documented, and the museum has taken a leading role in developing and deploying acoustic monitoring systems to track porpoises in the Baltic Sea. Together, these methods deliver essential baseline data for the protection of the region's endangered animals.
The museum’s long experience and commitment to scientifically accurate specimens underpin the creation of unique exhibits. Public engagement, rooted in research, is at the heart of its mission – extending far beyond exhibitions and aquaria to panel discussions, collaborations, and events for families, schools and adults. The Ocean Museum Germany is also active in numerous professional bodies, including the German Marine Research Consortium (KDM), the German Marine Research Alliance (DAM), the European Cetacean Society (ECS), the European Union of Aquarium Curators (EUAC), the German Museums Association and the International Council of Museums (ICOM).
Unlike most museums in Germany, the Ocean Museum Germany generates more than 80% of its funding independently. Support comes from the Hanseatic City of Stralsund, the federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and the German Federal Government. The museum's founders are the Hanseatic City of Stralsund and the Friends of the Ocean Museum Germany Association (Förderverein Deutsches Meeresmuseum e. V. established in 1991).
(Last updated: May 2025) On 11 July 2008, former German Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel inaugurated the OZEANEUM on Stralsund’s harbour island – at the time, the largest new museum building in Germany to be supported by federal funding. With this spectacular construction designed by Behnisch Architekten, the UNESCO World Heritage city’s harbour panorama gained a bold, contemporary landmark. Attracting more than half a million visitors each year, the OZEANEUM quickly became a major cultural magnet. In May 2010, it was named European Museum of the Year, and by 2024 the museum had welcomed more than nine million guests since its opening.
The OZEANEUM consists of four organically shaped building sections linked by a glass atrium flooded with natural light - like pebbles awash on the seashore. The white ship-steel façades resemble sails billowing in the wind. Upon entering the museum, visitors are greeted by three suspended whale skeletons. A 34-metre-long free-standing escalator– the length of a blue whale – leads upwards to the exhibition galleries.
The galleries display rare originals as well as carefully prepared specimens of marine animals and plants. Europe’s largest Baltic Sea exhibition is found in the OZEANEUM, featuring an oversized “plankton cloud”, a tactile relief model of the Baltic Sea, and large triangular showcases representing characteristic habitats. Since July 2011, the exhibition Exploration and Use of the Seas, developed with the German Marine Research Consortium, WWF and other partners, has offered visitors a simulated dive into the deep sea - accompanied by original objects highlighting the German marine research programme. The exhibition also addresses issues such as overfishing and sustainable fishing practices.
Fifty seawater aquariums take visitors on a unique journey through the underwater world of the northern seas. The Baltic Sea aquarium route begins in Stralsund’s harbour basin, then passes through Bodden (lagoon) waters and seagrass meadows, past Rügen's chalk cliffs, and along the skerries of Scandinavia, revealing the extraordinary biological diversity of the Baltic Sea.
The North Sea and North Atlantic section showcases habitats ranging from tidal flats to the open Atlantic Ocean. An exceptional tunnel aquarium is dedicated to Heligoland, Germany’s only high seas island. The OZEANEUM’s largest tank, holding 2.6 million litres of water, underwent an extensive renovation in early 2018. Here, schools of fish, sharks and rays glide above an authentic replica of an 11-metre-long shipwreck. Two massive acrylic panels, each more than 30 centimetres thick and weighing over 20 tonnes, together provide over 80 square metres of viewing space on two levels. Smaller, specially constructed tanks have housed a population of cold-water corals since 2015. In total, more than four million litres of "seawater" circulate through the OZEANEUM’s systems – all produced in the OZEANEUM from tap water.
The museum’s rooftop terrace harbours another highlight: a colony of Humboldt penguins. Visitors can watch these endangered birds both on land and under water, while enjoying panoramic views of Stralsund’s historic city centre from a height of 14 metres. Former Chancellor Dr Angela Merkel and other patrons have taken on sponsorships of these threatened animals.
The visitor journey of the OZEANEUM concludes with the impressive Giants of the Sea 1:1 exhibit, created in cooperation with Greenpeace. Suspended from the ceiling, life-size models of whales fill the hall – from a 26-metre blue whale, to a diving sperm whale locked in battle with a giant squid, to orcas, humpback whales with calves, and a beluga mother with her young. The soundscape is equally impressive, featuring the haunting songs of humpbacks and the clicks of sperm whales used to locate prey at depths of up to 3,000 metres. A multimedia presentation complements the display with information on whales, the threats they face, and strategies for their protection.
Year after year, the OZEANEUM receives awards for its family-friendly and accessible visitor experience. In recognition of its comprehensive facilities for visitors with disabilities, the OZEANEUM has been certified by the nationally recognised accessibility label „Reisen für Alle“ (Travel for All).
Outside the OZEANEUM, a 200-metre-wide flight of steps down to the water's edge invites guests to relax and enjoy the view across the harbour and Strelasund. A light installation evokes the shimmering movements of shoaling herring.
(Last updated: May 2025) The MEERESMUSEUM has resided in the former Dominican St Catherine's Monastery in Stralsund’s historic city centre since 1951. It is the oldest of four locations of the Ocean Museum Germany, which also includes the OZEANEUM on Stralsund’s harbour island, the NATUREUM at Darßer Ort and the NAUTINEUM on the island of Dänholm. Before St Catherine's was adapted for museum use, it served as an armoury and later as a school. The city's natural history museum, founded by Dr Otto Dibbelt, took up residence in the hallowed halls in 1951. During major renovations between 1972 and 1974, an unique free-standing timber framework was added to the interior to create space for large-scale exhibits on three levels.
Starting in 2020, the MEERESMUSEUM underwent a comprehensive modernisation to update its exhibits and aquariums, improve accessibility, and promote energy efficiency. The Stuttgart firm Reichel Schlaier Architekten won the European-wide design competition in 2017 with an impressive plan that combines sensitive treatment of the historic building fabric and bold new architecture. The result strikes a fine balance between heritage conservation and the demands of a modern cultural institution with a well-established identity. The MEERESMUSEUM reopened its doors to visitors on 17 July 2024.
The museum now unfolds across 7,500 square metres of usable space. Visitors are greeted by a spacious new entrance zone, extending from the foyer through the covered west courtyard and museum shop to the west portal of the church hall. A spectacular multimedia staging of a sardine run sets the tone. The visitor route explores marine biodiversity and the origin of all life in the ocean, examines the relationship between humans and the sea, and presents strategies for sustainable fisheries. Display cases form visual waves that sweep across two stories. On the upper level, visitors can wander from Antarctica to the Arctic via authentic habitat reconstructions with carefully crafted animal replicas and preserved specimens. A 15-metre-wide biodiversity wall highlights the often overlooked world of marine invertebrates – from octopuses to jellyfish and crabs. Old favourites have also found a home in the new museum, including Marlene the leatherback turtle, the five-metre-tall Red Sea tropical coral display and the monumental fin whale skeleton in the choir. The globe that used greet visitors at the museum entrance has re-emerged as a digital projection space for topics related to marine sciences.
The original free-standing timber framework has been modified to allow a 14-metre opening for the installation of life-sized models of giant marine animals. Master craftsman Peter Ardelt from Dresden created replicas of sharks, dolphins and a Bryde’s whale. The centrepiece is a ten-metre whale shark, which now floats under the vaulted ceiling surrounded by smaller shark species.
On 5 May 2025, the modernised aquarium route was opened to the public. A glass bridge leads into the new museum wing housing the largest aquarium in the MEERESMUSEUM. The Caribbean Reef is a 800,000-litre aquarium with a tilted viewing pane eight metres high, 53.5 centimetres thick and 80 square metres in size. Seen from three gallery levels, the aquarium offers a diver’s-eye perspective from the water surface to the seabed. Transporting the 60-tonne glass elements from Japan to Stralsund’s city centre, and installing them, was one of the most complex logistic and technical feats of the entire project. Within the reef, artificial replicas show the fascinating diversity of endangered Caribbean corals. The barrier-free route continues onward to a section with smaller aquariums presenting other tropical marine habitats, such as seagrass meadows, the Sargasso Sea, and mangroves.
The museum route continues in the historic vaulted cellars of the monastery. Visitors follow the currents of the Pacific Ocean from the cold waters and kelp forests off California’s coast to Hawaii’s dark volcanic seascape with a water temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. The colourful, bright underwater world of Fiji is recreated in an 85,000-litre tank with bluespotted ribbontail rays, oriental sweetlips and fusiliers swimming among light-coloured rocks and white sand.
A few steps further on, visitors are greeted by the underwater worlds of Australia and the Indo-Pacific with spiny lobsters and zebra fish. The exceptional biodiversity of the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Triangle is illustrated by a wealth of colourful corals bred in-house and unusual fish species such as longhorn cowfish. One aquarium showcases the phenomenon of coral fluorescence in which corals glow under ultraviolet light in the dark. Poisonous lionfish and pufferfish, along with ever-popular sea turtles, await visitors in the waters of the Maldives at the final stop on this tropical journey.
For the initial filling of the 30 new aquariums and the renovated Maldives turtle tank, 45 tonnes of sea salt were added to 350,000 litres of fresh water. In total, 1.4 million litres of water circulate through the aquarium systems in front of and behind the scenes at the MEERESMUSEUM. Many animals – including the three decades old sea turtles, the bluespotted ribbontail rays and other tropical fish – were already housed at the museum before the modernisation. The corals are either bred in-house or acquired from other aquariums. All purchased animals fall into the IUCN Least Concern category. Each tank is labelled with hand-drawn animal illustrations and information on the conservation status of the species.
Together with the OZEANEUM, the MEERESMUSEUM now forms one of Europe’s most comprehensive educational centres for the world’s seas and oceans. Presenting the wealth of colours and forms of marine life by means of exhibitions and aquariums has been the mission of Ocean Museum Germany for decades. Experience gained in marine organism breeding and husbandry, particularly for tropical corals, provides a vital foundation for current and future conservation and reintroduction projects.
Ocean Museum Germany warmly thanks the State of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building for their generous funding of the MEERESMUSEUM modernisation as well as the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Hanseatic City of Stralsund for valuable support.
(Last updated: June 2025) Since 1991, Ocean Museum Germany has operated a natural history museum directly beside the lighthouse at Darßer Ort, 45 kilometres north-west of Stralsund. Situated in the core zone of the Western Pomerania Lagoon Area National Park and at the northern tip of pristine Darß West Beach, the NATUREUM is surrounded by one of Germany’s most beautiful coastal regions. The nature experience already begins on the way to the lighthouse, as one travels on foot, by bicycle or by horse-drawn carriage along the five-kilometre car-free access path through Darß Forest.
The lighthouse, built in 1848, is the oldest still-operational beacon on Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's Baltic Sea coast and an impressive landmark. Its far-reaching light warns vessels of the Darß Sill, with beams visible up to 23 nautical miles away. Since 1995, the 35-metre-tall tower has once again been accessible to the public. After ascending 126 steps, visitors reach the viewing platform at a height of 28 metres and are rewarded – in fine weather – with sweeping vistas over the Baltic Sea and the Darß peninsula landscape. On clear days, the Danish islands of Falster and Møn can be seen on the horizon to the north-west. In 2009, the listed red brick façade of this colossal structure underwent extensive restoration.
The museum’s exhibition presents a wealth of beach finds as well as valuable information about the Baltic Sea, coastal dynamics, and the flora and fauna of the Darß peninsula. A former stable now houses three salt water aquariums with a capacity of approx. 10,000 litres that illustrate local marine habitats: sandy seabeds, seagrass meadows, and mussel reefs. Visitors can observe typical inhabitants of these ecosystems, including flounder, starfish, and sticklebacks. Each year, a special exhibition in the former petroleum bunker highlights a different aspect pertaining to the Baltic Sea region.
The museum’s outdoor grounds feature a wetland habitat, a dune and beach garden, and a display explaining coastline dynamics located along the path to West Beach.
Finally, Café Leuchtort offers museum visitors a quite spot to rest, relax, and recharge with a selection of food and drinks.