5 .
M A R I T I M E
M U S E U M
BURGPL. 30
In the late 1920s , the then director of the harbor of
Dusseldorf , Heinrich Eterich , put forward the idea of
developing an exhibition about the harbor of Dusseldorf
and the trade craft in general .
Together with the director of the Museum
Stadtgeschichtliches , Dr . Hans Brückner , took this idea
from 1931 to more specific forms .
With the knowledge of the museum specialist and the
technical know - how of the port director , he founded one
of the oldest collections on the history of navigation on
the Rhine with graphic images , documents and ship
models . This collection was originally presented to the
public temporarily in 1936 during the Düsseldorf Harbor
Festival at the State Museum , since 1937 the exposition
has been permanently housed in the Green Refuge
Planetarium in Erenhof .
However , during the Second World War , the collection
again lost its place and for a long time remained
without a permanent exhibition building . It was
available only at temporary exhibitions in different
places . Despite the fact that in 1954 a large personal
commitment was created between the Association of
Friends and the sponsors to them . Heinrich Eterich to
find a permanent exhibition area , the problem was
solved only in 1978 . On March 28 , 1978 , the city council
of Düsseldorf decided to place the Schiffahrt Museum in
the castle tower .
More than 2 million German marks were donated by
companies and individuals for the restoration of the
Schlosthurm and the opening of the Maritime Museum .
After extensive restoration , the SchifffahrtMuseum at
Schlossturm was opened in 1984 . The last complete
reconstruction and redesign of the Maritime Museum
took place in 2014 / 15 . From June 6 , 2015 , the museum is
open again to visitors with restored ship models of the
1930s , recently purchased or donated exhibits and
numerous regular loans from famous museums in
Germany .