Siegfried Line Museum

Irrel, Germany

The Siegfried Line Museum (Westwallmuseum Irrel) lies near the German-Luxembourg border in the Eifel mountains. It is housed in a bunker that was part of the former Siegfried Line (Westwall), the Katzenkopf Strongpoint (Panzerwerk Katzenkopf), which was built from 1937 to 1939. Together with other bunkers the Panzerwerk Katzenkopf was built to guard the main road from Cologne to the city of Luxembourg. It is the northernmost strongpoint in the Siegfried Line.

These strongpoints differed from the other roughly 15,000 fortifications of the Siegfried Line in having an armoured cupola and wall thicknesses of at least 1.0 metre. 32 examples of such structures were built to construction thickness 'B' with exterior walls of reinforced concrete up to 2 metres thick. Another of these so called B-Werke ('B Works') that has been open to the public since 2006 is B-Werk Besseringen in the Saarland.

The above-ground section of the bunder was blown up in 1947 and its remains were bulldozed into a heap. In July 1976 the excavation of the bunker began the majority of the work being carried out by the Volunteer Fire Service of Irrel. The Siegfried Line Museum has been established on 3 accessible levels of the strongpoint since 1979. There are pictures and weapons of the Second World War period. The museum is only open to casual visitors on Sundays and public holidays (during the summer).

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Address

Irrel, Germany
See all sites in Irrel

Details

Founded: 1937
Category: Museums in Germany
Historical period: Nazi Germany (Germany)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.2/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Rafael B (9 months ago)
Great place to get an impression of the planned buildings at the time and the West Wall. Have cash with you at the checkout and wear a jacket and sturdy shoes, even in warm temperatures. Respect also to the volunteer fire department that takes care of things here.
John Baas (2 years ago)
open on Sunday was worth seeing don't expect too much from this bunker. Costs €4 to view.
Daniel Avram (2 years ago)
Very interesting location, one of the very few works of Siegfried line which are preserved and can be visited. Nice organized and very interesting displays (posters, photos and drawings) . A lot of info on the construction of the line. It's smaller than the big forts of Maginot line, however it's worth the visit. Kudos to the people who maintain it!
Jack Mentzer (2 years ago)
An interesting part of history. 4€ per adult entrance fee. A must stop for any WWII enthusiast. The community has done an outstanding job renovating the facility. Most of the rooms of the facility are labelled as to the function they served. I was surprised how big and deep the complex was.
Red Sky (2 years ago)
Interesting military bunker It's for free Normal ppening time is only at sunday or holidays. If you wish a extra tour, you can contact the local firestation.
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