FC Bayern Museum: The gifted treasures

Precious objects from 126 years of FC Bayern: from used shirts and balls to historic documents – the club museum retains some unique donations, which bring the club’s history to life. A fascinating insight into Munich’s most beautiful Wimmelbild.

What do a silver watch, worn goalkeeper gloves and five ancient paintings have in common? For a start, they’re all next to or on top of each other on this remarkably large table, which has been erected in the side room of the FC Bayern Museum for this 51 shoot. The connection between these items goes beyond the surface, though. “All these little things help to preserve the club's historical heritage,” says Laura Nicolaiciuc – and the woman knows what she’s talking about. She’s responsible for our club’s archive and loves the Wimmelbild that has built up in front of her. A colourful collection of all sorts of exhibits that have been donated to FC Bayern in the course of its 126-year-long history.

Around 1,500 of these so-called donations are registered in the archive, a considerable amount in the context of – including loans and club property – around 8,000 exhibits in total. And even if not every historically valuable item can make its way into the exhibition, the less well-known ones are particularly worth a look. They come from former players, from family estates, the deepest corners of basements; from fans and fan clubs, private individuals as well as organisations and colleagues. And they often tell stories that explain the history of FC Bayern in more detail, or even add to it. They’re all registered in a large database as great, lasting sources of club history. Often, many of them step out of a cardboard box and into the spotlight, quite unexpectedly.

When projects such as special exhibitions, research work or social media campaigns are taking place, it always becomes particularly clear how valuable the gifted treasures are in the archive. Covering a wide range of themes, full of true rarities and left with a great deal of trust in FC Bayern. As a cultural institution, it is the museum’s responsibility and duty to take care of the exhibits. We would therefore like to take this opportunity to say thank you. Thank you for the most beautiful Wimmelbild in Munich! 

Don’t worry, the picture doesn’t smell. And if it did, it would be the smell of grass, sweat and tears (of joy) – you can’t get more football than that! You need a lot of time if you want to see all the donated jerseys in the FC Bayern archive. Even the small selection here is impressive: for example the promotion-winning shirt that Franz Beckenbauer wore in the legendary 8-0 win over Tennis Borussia, gifted by long-time member Erich Böck from Haimhausen. Or the signed shirt from Patrik Andersson, Bayern’s title-winning hero from the 2000/01 campaign. There are also two from Jakob “Jaki” Streitle, which don’t bear the Bayern crest but the federal eagle on the chest – a memento of his 15 international appearances three quarters of a century ago. Boots from Sebastian Deisler, Sammy Koffour, Thorsten Fink; gloves from Raimond Aumann – and equally interesting items from our women’s team. Gina Lewandowski and Melanie Behringer left their match-worn boots as souvenirs of their time at FC Bayern. Incidentally, Behringer’s pair are a men’s model – an interesting detail regarding the history of women’s football, which has evolved massively in the last 10 years. 

A window to the red world

The fact that FC Bayern was originally founded as an “artist club” is well known, but to see how much art there actually is in the club archive is still staggering. From “Skater” to “Winter Landscape,” from “Mountain Panorama” to “Young Man in the Grass”, everything can be seen in the paintings of founding member Wilhelm Focke. Compared to the impressive pictures, many other exhibits that are artistic in the broadest sense take up less space, but are by no means less historically significant. Take the ticket from the 1932 championship final, a donation from Frederic Roller from Dürrmenz, found in his grandfather's estate. Even older is the 80-picture collection by Georg Hutsteiner, who as a player also accompanied the first team photographically in the 1920s – a journey into another time. A time from which the donated 25- and 50-year chronicles also originate – and in which you could get the “basic player badge” for 150 games for the club, as Josef Seitz did in 1950. It lies next to the bag from the first souvenir boutique, which opened on Säbener Straße in 1983, when the word “fan shop” still sounded foreign. Next to it is a programme from a colourful evening at the Olympic Stadium, autograph cards – and a salad recipe from Uli Hoeneß. Once published in the magazine Bild+Funk, it has since been copied millions of times. At least! 

Jupp Heynckes wears large? At least in the adidas ‘Downtime’ design, which the club’s first treble-winning coach got to put on in the 2017/8 season. The gifted jacket sat loose and airy, unlike the sweater that youth player Hans-Georg “Katsche” Schwarzenbeck once modelled on the pitch. Turquoise, very simple, printed with a small “4.” Yes, fashion has also changed in the history of FC Bayern. However, the elegant Longines watch, model ‘Admiral’, which Walter Fembeck wore on his wrist as a gift for the 1969 Bundesliga title, is timelessly beautiful. Lydia Köhl's bracelet, which was given to her by the DFB for the 1976 championship, is a little more extravagant. Both exhibits can be found under the heading ‘Curiosities’, where there are many other interesting items among the donations. The record collection is large, and the fan club “Rollwagerl eV” has provided not only a wheelchair, but a whole range of fan equipment. The four small slides provided by Club No. 12 seem comparatively unspectacular at first glance. However, anyone who turns on the projector is quickly transported back more than 50 years. On display: the construction site of the Olympic Stadium, presumably from the perspective of the Olympic Tower. This is how the largest tent roof construction in the world was being built.