Press folder Contents MiQua. LVR-Jewish Museum in the Archeological Quarter in Cologne – An Overview Name & Purpose 1 Owner & Operator 1 Unique Features & Museum Blueprint 2 Architecture: The New Museum Building Facts & Figures 4 Design & Implementation 4 The Permanent Exhibition Jewish History and Culture 7 Roman Section with Praetorium 9 MiQua Highlights 11 Background The Rhineland Regional Council (LVR) 13 MiQua Friends: Association for the Promotion of the LVR Jewish 14 Museum in Cologne’s Archaeological Quarter The MiQua Team 15 Status: March 2020 MiQua. LVR-Jewish Museum in the Archeological Quarter in Cologne Press contact Michael Jakobs phone +49 (0)221 809-7156 [email protected] https://miqua.lvr.de/de/presse/presse.html Blog & website (under construction) https://miqua.blog https://miqua.lvr.de Press agency support ARTEFAKT Kulturkonzepte phone +49 (0)30 44010 720 [email protected] www.artefakt-berlin.de/aktuelle-projekte/miqua MiQua. LVR-Jewish Museum in the Archeological Quarter in Cologne, Gürzenich Quartier, Augustinerstr. 10–12, 50667 Köln, Director: Dr. Thomas Otten, Press contact: Michael Jakobs, Phone: +49 (0)221 809-7156, E-Mail: [email protected], Internet: https://miqua.lvr.de Page 1 MiQua. LVR-Jewish Museum in the Archeological Quarter in Cologne – An Overview MiQua from Obenmarspforten (simulation). © Wandel Lorch Architekten Name & Purpose A new museum of international significance is currently being built in Cologne at the heart of the city centre: MiQua. LVR-Jewish Museum in the Archeological Quarter in Cologne. The name MiQua is short for “Museum in the Quarter” and it refers to the 6,000 m2 of excavation work taking place right underneath the town hall square in the city’s Archaeological Quarter. More than two thousand years of Cologne’s history have come to light here – first in 1953, then more intensively from the 1990s onwards and above all after 2007 – from the monumental Praetorium where the Roman governor once resided to the medieval Jewish Quarter and the Christian Goldsmiths’ Quarter. Above these archaeological monuments, a new museum building will house exhibitions both permanent and temporary, offering insights into the archaeology below ground, including the medieval Synagogue and the ritual Jewish bath, the Mikveh, which is also reflected in the name MiQua. Owner & Operator In 2013 the Rhineland Regional Council (LVR) and the City of Cologne signed a framework agreement to implement the museum project. The City of Cologne is the developer and owner of the museum and archaeological monuments and is responsible for constructing and equipping the museum, maintaining the building and carrying out the excavations. The archaeological input is provided by “Archäologische Zone”, a direct works department run by the city council, and the Romano-Germanic Museum/Department of Archaeological Monument Conservation, which are city council institutions. The State of North Rhine-Westphalia has contributed funds towards the construction costs. The LVR is drawing up the conceptual blueprint for the museum and its operations. After the handover, scheduled for late 2024, the LVR will become the operator and will run the museum as an independent agency. A six-month test phase is envisaged prior to the official opening. The City of Cologne reports on building costs, cost movements and the precise timeline. However, the Praetorium and the museum’s education center can be used by the MiQua from 2021. The two locations as well as the underground area of the museum under the ceiling field in front of the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud, will host events in 2021 on the occasion of the nationwide festive year "1700 years of Jewish life in Germany". MiQua. LVR-Jewish Museum in the Archeological Quarter in Cologne, Gürzenich Quartier, Augustinerstr. 10–12, 50667 Köln, Director: Dr. Thomas Otten, Press contact: Michael Jakobs, Phone: +49 (0)221 809-7156, E-Mail: [email protected], Internet: https://miqua.lvr.de Page 2 Unique Features & Museum Blueprint The sensational excavations in Cologne’s Archaeological “The star of the Quarter are unique in the international arena and they museum is the provide the focus for the museum concept. A 600-metre monument!” tour under the town hall square will guide visitors through 6,000 m2 of exhibition space, integrating numerous original features with some of the most significant archaeological finds from two thousand years of history in the city of Cologne and the Rhineland: Roman history from the 1st to the 4th century, Jewish history from the 11th to the early 15th century and again from the 19th to the 20th century, and medieval and early modern urban history from the 7th to the 20th century. The archaeological remains of the Praetorium – the governor’s palace and the centre of Roman rule on the Rhine – are unmatched in size and condition, having been preserved underneath the fabric of a big, modern city as it evolved above ground. Equally outstanding are the relics of the Jewish Quarter with its Synagogue and ritual bath, the Mikveh, dating from the 11th and 12th centuries, together with other residential and communal buildings, not least a hospital and dance hall. In no other German town has a medieval Jewish Quarter of such magnitude survived. Thanks to these archaeological finds and features and the few written sources, the first section of the permanent exhibition will facilitate an uncommonly well-researched and complete presentation of German Jewish history in the Middle Ages. This has rarely been highlighted by museums to date and constitutes a ground-breaking conceptual emphasis. Panoramic view (fisheye lens) of the excavations led by Dr Marcus Trier in 2013. In the foreground the exposed cellars dating from the medieval to the modern era. The Synagogue is beneath the tent. © Christina Kohnen / Stadt Köln MiQua. LVR-Jewish Museum in the Archeological Quarter in Cologne, Gürzenich Quartier, Augustinerstr. 10–12, 50667 Köln, Director: Dr. Thomas Otten, Press contact: Michael Jakobs, Phone: +49 (0)221 809-7156, E-Mail: [email protected], Internet: https://miqua.lvr.de Page 3 The museum blueprint remains intricately interwoven with the architecture of the museum building, a hall-like structure erected over the archaeology to shield it. The new building has no interior supports: its glazed load-bearing structure encases plenums, enabling air to circulate over the excavations while permitting multiple views from the upper exhibition levels onto the archaeological features below. In addition, the upper level contains spaces for events and for permanent and special exhibitions to complement and enrich the content of the museum. The history of Jews in Cologne from the 15th century “Jewish history is onwards is reflected in the second section of the permanent part of universal exhibition in the new museum building, where the history.” narrative continues into the present. It is embedded within the historical context of the city as a whole and also within German Jewish and European Jewish history. This methodology has been adopted by historiographers for many decades: Jewish history is not studied in isolation but as an integral part of universal history. MiQua offers tremendous potential to share this research approach with the broader public. The Jews and Christians of Cologne often crossed paths in their everyday lives, as the written and material sources vividly illustrate. Together, for example, they defended the town wall around Cologne, and for a while they shared the use of the butchers’ row on the old marketplace. With many exhibits it is impossible to tell whether they originated from a Jewish or a non-Jewish household. This exhibition has the potential to dispel age-old clichés, some of which still persist today. The question of cultural identity runs like a thread through every section of the permanent exhibition, and a versatile picture emerges. The guiding principle, both along the archaeological tour and in the period-based displays in the new building, is to narrate Jewish history and culture from multiple perspectives and through people who set their stamp on urban life in Cologne. The museum draws life from the very place Archaeological tour of the Jewish Quarter, arriving at the Synagogue where it is located. Two thousand (simulation). © Wandel Lorch Architekten years of European history can be observed and experienced here. MiQua will be a forum for collecting, studying and spreading knowledge about history and culture. The aim is not simply to showcase existing items, but to illustrate how people in different times and with different interests organised their lives within society, and how the various stakeholders co-existed side by side with all their similarities and differences. History is the springboard for references to our own day, revealing both change and continuity. Archaeology operates here like an open book setting out two thousand years of history. MiQua. LVR-Jewish Museum in the Archeological Quarter in Cologne, Gürzenich Quartier, Augustinerstr. 10–12, 50667 Köln, Director: Dr. Thomas Otten, Press contact: Michael Jakobs, Phone: +49 (0)221 809-7156, E-Mail: [email protected], Internet: https://miqua.lvr.de Page 4 Architecture The New Museum Building Facts & Figures Planning began Planning decision: 28 September 2008 Architecture “Archaeological Zone and Jewish Museum, Cologne” competition Awarded on 13 June 2008 to Wandel, Hoefer, Lorch & Hirsch (now Wandel Lorch Architekten) in Saarbrücken Application &