Peace Museum at the Remagen Bridge

The mayor of Remagen, Hans Peter Kürten, had long had the idea of building a memorial. Negotiations with the Federal Railroad took seven years before the former railway site could be acquired. Indications to official bodies to preserve the bridge as a memorial and to set up a memorial for peace were ignored.

When the bridge piers were removed from the Rhine in the summer of 1976, he had their stones brought to the Remagener Ufer, because he had an idea: namely to sell small chunks of these bridge stones, enclosed in cast resin and with a certificate of authenticity. On March 7, 1978, he went public with this idea. The success was beyond all expectations. Within a short period of time, sales revenues of well over DM 100,000 were raised - the foundation stone of the museum was laid.

It was possible to get a job creation measure approved by the employment office. The towers were cleared out, doors and windows were added, the interior was painted and lights were put on. The memorial was opened on March 7, 1980, only 2 years after the idea of selling the bridge stones. Since then, more than 800,000 people have visited the museum.

One focus of the exhibition is reminiscent of the construction, the conquest and the heavy fighting in the bridgehead, in which German, American, Belgian and English soldiers were involved. A documentary video from the English Military Academy in Sandhurst shows what is happening in newsreels and interviews with contemporary witnesses.

The second focus, under the heading "Building Bridges - Messages for Peace", sheds light on developments after the Second World War and documents the more than 200 wars since 1945.

Source: bruecke-remagen.de/friedensmuseum

In the towers of the former bridgehead of the "Bridge of Remagen", which was bombed by the Allies towards the end of the Second World War and was unsuccessfully attempted to blow up when the Wehrmacht withdrew, but later collapsed by itself, there is a small "Peace Museum". It is - naturally - not a cultural or even entertaining visit to a museum, but serves as a reminder and reminder. A task that is still relevant today!

I think it is very important that such structures are preserved. Unfortunately, the walls are smeared, the property gets dirty and overgrown. Would be nice if you not only praised it as a sight but also received it as such. The bridge piers are definitely worth seeing.