On Vacation Guide Book Cologne | Page 31

6 .   S H O K O L A D M U S E U M AM SCHOKOLADENMUSEUM 1A Hans Imhoff ( 1922 – 2007 ), a passionate chocolate maker , had a long - standing dream : the chocolate museum with a fountain of never - ending streams of chocolate . In 1972 , Hans Imhoff acquired the Stallwerk factory in the city quarter of Cologne in Suedstadt . It is broken by a container in which the broken machines , packing material and old files are stored . Hans immediately realized that he had met the treasury . He studied , restored and restored the contents , creating the foundation for the museum . But many years had to go before the opening of the Chocolate Museum . Hans Imhoff uses time to study the culture and industrial history of chocolate as he continues to develop and expand his collection . In 1992 , his wife Tanning Klara Imhoff discovered the perfect place for a chocolate museum at the old central customs in the Rheinau harbor ; A new landmark of Cologne can be built here . On October 31 , 1993 , after a 13 - month construction period , the Chocolate Museum was opened . This was the triumph of the history of the German museum . About 600 , 000 visitors a year gather here , this is the most visited cultural institution in Cologne .