The museum foyer in 1982; Photo: K. Bergmann

» Museum history

Download-Size: 2 MB

Click here …

1968: Potsdam′s municipal council is informed about the idea of the establishment of a film museum.
1977: The municipal council decides to establish a film museum in the dilapidated building of the royal stables – the Marstall – in Potsdam′s historical city centre. Extensive restoration and reconstruction work begins.
1981: Upon opening, the "Film Museum of the GDR" offers an exhibition on technical equipment and shows films in its cinema.
1983: A permanent exhibition on Ufa and DEFA history is opened on the ground floor of the Marstall. Travelling exhibitions on DEFA films and an ambitious film programme supplement the offers.
1987: The travelling exhibition on director Wolfgang Staudte, first shown in Düsseldorf, is the first inter-German joint venture in the context of the cultural conventions between GDR and FRG.
1990: A GDR regulation requiring the film museum to exclusively collect film and cinema technology becomes invalid. The collections are given their own location, stocks are growing fast. Estates of former DEFA members are acquired. A new staff is running the museum and its departments.
1991: The film museum, so far a branch of the State Palaces und Gardens Potsdam-Sanssouci, becomes a museum of the federal state. The Marstall becomes a cultural centre featuring film festivals, media projects, seminars, conferences, discussions and, of course, attractive exhibitions. Film talks with contemporary witnesses of the DEFA years supplement the collections.
1992: First international exhibition in cooperation with the Institut Fran�ais.
1993: The interior of the Marstall is rebuilt according to international museum standards, and the restored Welte Cinema Organ is integrated into the cinema.
1994: The second permanent exhibition "Film City Babelsberg" is opened and the film museum publishes a book on DEFA film history, which is to become a standard work of reference. The redecorated café becomes a cultural meeting point.
1995: The cinema is reopened after reconstruction measures. It has been equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system.
1999: The cinema is equipped with two new Ernemann projectors.
2001: The museum celebrates its 20th anniversary with a party and a book on the technology collection.
2002: Funding that has been granted on the occasion of the anniversary for the first part of the permanent exhibition is released. Work on the exhibition "Babelsberg –�Faces of a Film Metropolis" is running at top speed.
2004: On 1 April, the ribbon is cut at the third permanent exhibition "Babelsberg –�Faces of a Film Metropolis". In this context, the redecoration of the foyer is carried out by Potsdam artist Steffen Mühle.
2005: On 1 June, the family exhibition "Fairyland Babelsberg" is opened.
2006: In April, the museum celebrates its 25th anniversary. On this occasion, the Federal State of Brandenburg donates financial support to equip the cinema with new seats, lamps, carpets and a beamer by the end of the year.