Memory box - historical artefacts from Koelnmesse

On 17 August 1360, the city of Cologne was granted the official trade fair seal by Emperor Charles IV. It meant permission to hold trade fairs twice a year for eight days before and after St John's Day (24 June) and St Martin's Day (11 November). The official right to hold trade fairs strengthened the city of Cologne's trading position and brought it economic and political power. Even though Koelnmesse did not open its first trade fair until almost 544 years later, this seal marks an important turning point in the history of the trade fair world.

Our autumn statue already adorned the north façade of the Messehof in the 1920s and is now located at the south entrance to the exhibition halls. The statue, made of artificial stone, was created between 1922 and 1923 on behalf of the trade fair company and temporarily returned to its artist in 1927 due to the remodelling of the exhibition grounds. In 2014, it was brought back to the exhibition centre as a tribute to the history of Koelnmesse and still watches over Koelnmesse and the wonderful trade fair events there today.

These beer mugs were once given as a gift for the topping-out ceremony of Exhibition Hall 14 in 1975. Colleagues inherited these mugs from their parents and made them available for our anniversary.

This is what office organisation used to look like. Employees could enter their office attendance and mark their holidays on these absence calendars. Anyone who left the company ended up in the "Won't be back" field.

The Cologne Carnival as a celebration of joie de vivre and tradition has always had a special place in the history of Koelnmesse. In the past, the carnival medals were used at the carnival sessions, which took place as part of the international furniture fair imm and demonstrate Koelnmesse's local and personal connection to its city.

Here you can see an official entrance ticket for the Cologne Autumn Trade Fair in 1936, which opened its doors to all visitors from 20-22 September. The special thing about this ticket is that it was also a travel ticket for the "Deutsche Reichsbahn", the Cologne railway at that time. Similar to today, you could also use public transport thanks to the trade fair ticket.

At the 1st International Lingerie and Corsetry Salon in Cologne from 20 to 22 October, high-quality lingerie and corsetry products were presented. Whether fashionable undergarments, slip skirts or nightdresses - the trade showed great interest in buying. A total of 243 companies from 13 different countries exhibited.

Chicken soup, Rhine salmon, ox loin and ice cream - this is what the menu card from 11 May 1924 looked like. Chancellor Wilhelm Marx, Reich President Friedrich Ebert and Lord Mayor Konrad Adenauer, among others, held this menu in their hands at the banquet of the first Cologne trade fair. Each course was accompanied by appropriate music.

The PRESSA, also known as the "International Press Exhibition", opened in Cologne on 12 May 1928 and is regarded as the most important special exhibition of the 1920s. It arose from the growing cultural and economic importance of the newspaper industry and communication technology. The entire area between today's Deutz Bridge and the Zoo Bridge was included in the exhibition. It lasted a total of 5 months and attracted around 5 million visitors to Cologne.