Badminton’s history is being celebrated in a new way, with two museums opening in Europe just a day apart in August — the first of their kind in Germany and Denmark.
One of them, the Badminton Museum Bonn, opened on August 29 at Badminton Club Beuel, Germany’s biggest badminton club. It showcases the personal collection of former European doubles player Roland Maywald and his wife, Helga.
Unlike traditional badminton museums that focus mainly on players and tournaments, the Maywalds’ collection explores how badminton became part of everyday European life. Their exhibits include porcelain figurines, postcards, paintings, rackets and shuttlecocks dating back centuries.
The collection was built over more than four decades, while the museum itself took around 18 months to put together. It reflects the passion of the Maywald family, who have contributed to German badminton across three generations.
Among the highlights are six Meissen porcelain figurines, around 150 rackets dating back to the 1840s, shuttlecocks of different sizes and prints dating as far back as the 17th century.
For Maywald, the collection offers a fascinating glimpse into how deeply badminton was embedded in European culture.
“We are all very surprised that rackets and shuttles appeared in everyday life,” he said, noting that badminton was represented not only on courts but also through plates, postcards, artwork and other everyday objects.
The museum provides a reminder that badminton’s heritage extends far beyond competitions and champions — it is also a story of how the sport became part of people’s lives.
