Attention: We want to point out our
Venue for the IFTR2025 Conference
is at the Main Campus, University of Cologne.
Albertus-Magnus-Platz, 50923 Cologne Germany!
Although the Theaterwissenschaftliche Sammlung (TWS) [Theatre Collection] acts as the host institution for IFTR 2025, the congress itself will take place at the main campus of the University of Cologne, Albertus-Magnus-Platz!
The Main Campus is located in the heart of the city, therefore is easily reachable by train, tram, bus, or even by foot.
For more information on how to reach the congress venue, here is a link to a more detailed article describing the methods of travel.
About Accessibility
Campus - University venues
The conference will mainly take place around the university’s main campus. All university venues (including restrooms) are accessible for people with wheelchairs and other walking aids.
Linked below is a map of the university buildings, showing the accessible entrances. Most panels will be held at Hauptgebäude, Philosophikum, and Hörsaalgebäude.
Theatre Collection
Due to historic monument protection regulations, the Theatre Collection in Schloss Wahn can unfortunately only be accessed by stairs (as can be seen on the photograph above).
Public transport
If you travel with public transportation, you can find information on accessibility of the Cologne Tram on the website of the Cologne public transportation service KVB, including a map of all tram lines and stations.
General information: Barrierefreiheit | Kölner Verkehrs-Betriebe
(This part of the website is sadly not translated to English yet.)
Map of stations and lines: 2024_Touren_ohne_Treppen_MuelheimerBruecke_April.pdf
The app of the Cologne Tram, KVB-App, offers live information on broken lifts: https://www.kvb.koeln/app
If you travel by train, information and contacts are to be found on the website of the Deutsche Bahn. You can also search for the Cologne stations to get more detailed information on accessibility. The most important stations are:
- Köln Hauptbahnhof (Cologne Central Station)
- Köln Messe/Deutz (Cologne Trade Fair/Deutz)
- Köln Süd (Cologne South Station)
General information and contact of Mobilitätsservice-Zentrale: Services für barrierefreies Reisen
Station Accessibility Search: Station search – bahnhof.de
Any questions left?
Your question was not answered here or you have individual accessibility needs for your presentation or stay, you would like to communicate? Please contact us via iftr-orga(at)uni-koeln(dot)de .
Host institution:
Theatre Collection | Dept. Of Media Culture and Theatre | University of Cologne
About us
The Theaterwissenschaftliche Sammlung (TWS) [Theatre Collection] is an international documentation and research centre for theatre history and media culture. It houses one of the world's largest collections of ›Theatralia‹: textual and visual material on European theatre from the 16th century to the present day as well as a large collection of objects such as puppets, shadow figures and masks from all over the world. A recent addition to our holdings is the Werner Nekes Collection that opens to scope to the broad visual culture since the Early Modern period, such as Magic Lanterns, Peep Boxes, etc.
With its extensive reference library and various archive holdings, it offers a special place for research, teaching and learning at Schloss Wahn. As part of the Institute for Media Culture and Theatre, the Theatre Studies Collection is also a place for students and early career scholars: at the University of Cologne with Theatre Studies as an integral part of the Institute's diverse Bachelor's and Master's programmes, internationally through joint courses offered by the team or collaborations, such as the annual Summer School [six!], which has been taking place since 2013.
History
Carl Niessen began collecting in Cologne in 1919 - the same year in which he habilitated at the University of Cologne with a dissertation on theatre history. The same year he started teaching and collecting.
Ten years later, Niessen was appointed lecturer in Theatre Studies. In 1932, a building in the centre of Cologne made it possible to carry out research, collecting and teaching activities in the new theatre museum. Niessen continued his work under National Socialism and was appointed a full professor in 1938. During the Second World War, the collection was relocated and eventually moved to Schloss Wahn in 1955. Upon his retirement, Niessen transferred his private collection to the University of Cologne - the basis of today's Theatre Collection, which has been and continues to be expanded to this day.
The »provisional« location at Schloss Wahn has since become a permanent one and the »Theatre Museum« has been transformed into today's »Theaterwissenschaftliche Sammlung«, which has been headed by Prof. Dr Peter W. Marx since 2012.
Today, it is an international research centre, hosting scholars from all over the world for longer or shorter research stays. The team of the TWS is also engaged in curating exhibitions in cooperation with museums. Many of our objects are literally cultural ambassadors for the TWS and the University of Cologne as they are often requested as items on loan for international museums.