German Football Museum

Step out of Dortmund's main station and you are practically at the door: the German Football Museum is the German Football Association's national museum and tells the story from Bern 1954 to Rio 2014 on two exhibition floors. Here you find the real World Cup and European Championship trophies, the boot Helmut Rahn scored the 1954 winner with, and the one Mario Götze used to win Germany's fourth world title. Even if football is not your thing, you get a slice of German contemporary history.

History: built with the profits of the 2006 World Cup

After the 2006 World Cup the DFB decided to use its profits to build a national football museum. Fourteen cities applied; Cologne, Oberhausen, Gelsenkirchen and Dortmund made the shortlist. On 24 April 2009 the choice fell on the site south of Dortmund's main station, previously the bus station. The architecture competition was won jointly by HPP of Düsseldorf and pmp of Munich. The museum opened on 23 October 2015.

What to see

• Treasure Chamber: The original trophies for three European and four World titles won by the men and eight European and two World titles won by the women are shown together in one room for the first time.
• Miracle of Bern: Helmut Rahn's boot from the 1954 final and the match ball the world champions signed afterwards, plus a section of stand from Bern's Wankdorf stadium.
• Rio 2014: Mario Götze's boot from the final against Argentina and the shirt Miroslav Klose wore when he became the World Cup's all-time top scorer in the semi-final.
• Club football: The Champions League trophy and the Viktoria, presented to the German champions from 1903 to 1944 before the current championship shield existed.
• Hall of Fame: Since 2019 the museum has honoured players and coaches here, from Sepp Herberger and Fritz Walter to Birgit Prinz.

Good to know

Götze's final boot came to the museum through a charity appeal: it was promised to whoever made the largest donation to the children's charity campaign "Ein Herz für Kinder". On 6 December 2014 an anonymous donor gave two million euros, and national coach Joachim Löw announced that the boot would go to the new museum. It is the right one on display. The tour starts at the top, on the second floor, with the national team; a 3D cinema then takes you down to the club football floor. Since the 2017/18 season the DFB Cup draws have taken place here on Sundays at 6 pm, broadcast live on TV.

Opening hours (as of October 2026)

• Regular: Tuesday to Sunday 10:00–18:00, last entry 17:00.
• Mondays: open during the NRW Easter, autumn and Christmas school holidays and on some public holidays.
• Closed on 24, 25 and 31 December and 1 January.
• Tickets are sold at the box office or online; the special exhibition is closed on some days. Children under 6 go free.

Allow two to three hours; fans tend to stay longer.

Getting there

The museum is directly opposite the main exit of Dortmund Hauptbahnhof; do not take the north exit. The Kampstraße and Westentor light-rail stops are also close. Drivers can park in the underground car park at the station. If you come by bike, leave it at the station's bike park for €1 a day and get €1 off at the museum box office. The building was designed to be largely barrier-free.

Tripto tip

Visitors aged 60 and over get free coffee and cake with a regular single ticket on Thursdays. And if you come on a cup-draw Sunday, check the programme to see whether the draw is taking place live in the building.