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Pirmasens, located about 40 minutes south of Ramstein, had once been the center of the German shoe industry. But since 1970, the lack of competitiveness, especially against mass goods from southern Europe and South East Asia, made it increasingly difficult for the companies.
Most of the local shoe factories were abandoned, others were only able to survive through outsourcing, producing abroad and specializing in niche segments.
Even the former largest European shoe factory, Rheinberger, in Pirmasens, was not spared from closure. During the company’s heydays, more than 2,500 people were employed producing more than 5,000 pairs of shoes daily. From then on, the
number of workers continuously declined over the years, and when the factory closed in 1996, only 250 employees were left.
The huge Rheinberger complex started to decay until Pirmasens decided to bring the premises back to life, and in 2006 basic renovation of the industrial complex started. Since then, a total of 18,000 square metres of useable space has been made available to investors. On April 29, the first Science Center in Rhineland-Palatinate, the Dynamikum, opened. On two levels with a total surface of 4,000 square meters, visitors from near and far can discover, the various physical phenomena all around the topic of “motion” by intuitive activity.
The Dynamikum has something for all ages. Since its grand opening, there have been more than 55,000 visitors, more than the city’s inhabitants. Keeping with the building’s history, everything is centered around motion, from moving things to moving yourself. Following a path through its two stories of hands-on
experiments on things like mass in motion, speed of nature and human force, you can also read the history of Pirmasens and its once-booming shoe industry.
Whether reading about Adi Dassler’s (Adidas) invention of the first soccer spike or racing a kangaroo, you are bound to learn something and have lots of fun.
The Dynamikum is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekends and German holidays. The Dynamikum is closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. More information can be found at www.dynamikum.de.
