German Tank Museum

Munster, Lower Saxony, Germany

The German Tank Museum is an armoured fighting vehicle museum in Munster, Germany, the location of the Munster Training Area camp (not to be confused with the city of Münster). Its main aim is the documentation of the history of German armoured troops since 1917.

The museum displays tanks, military vehicles, weapons, small arms, uniforms, medals, decorations and military equipment from World War I to the present day. The heart of the exhibition is a collection of about 40 Bundeswehr and former East German (Nationale Volksarmee) tanks as well as 40 German tanks and other Wehrmacht vehicles from the Second World War. In addition there are tanks from the Soviet Red Army, the British Army and the United States Army from the Second World War, as well as other modern tanks such as the Israeli Merkava. Most of the vehicles are in working order, with restoration work ongoing to render all examples functional.

The museum site covers an area of over 9,000 square metres.  In 2003 the museum opened a new building for special displays, a museum shop and a cafeteria.

References:

Comments

Your name

Website (optional)


Address

Hans-Krüger-Straße 23, Munster, Lower Saxony, Germany
See all sites in Munster, Lower Saxony

Details

Founded: 1983
Category: Museums in Germany
Historical period: Cold War and Separation (Germany)

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.7/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby


Church of John the Baptist (35,4 km)
St. Nicholas Church (35,6 km)
St. Michael Church (35,1 km)
Lüne Abbey (36,9 km)
Medingen Abbey (32,7 km)
Neuengamme Concentration Camp (50,5 km)
Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp (28,6 km)

User Reviews

Stijn Lenaerts (18 months ago)
Interesting collection of tanks and military vehicles. The museum is well laid out and covers multiple areas in armored warfare. As a 'bonus' during our visit we had a constant artillery soundtrack in the background coming from nearby military manoeuvres. LPT: Take a jacket, the halls are not heated!
Widi Widiantoro (19 months ago)
Great places to wander around and marvel at many historic tanks and armored vehicles. That said, it's slightly dusty
Johnny Dark (19 months ago)
Better than expected. I didn't allow enough time and I didn't get to properly enjoy it all. Great museum.
Michael Burton (20 months ago)
A great selection of vehicles. Many interesting facts. Great for the kids too
pf4d (2 years ago)
Being a modeler of plastic armored fighting vehicles, visiting this museum was a life-long dream come true for me. So many tanks. I wish I had arrived earlier in the day, there is a lot to see. Well maintained and beautiful collection, including interior cutaways, tanks you can go inside, and all kinds of uniforms, historical information, and data. BVerwG The paint on the WWII vehicles is stunning. Seriously, you have to go here.
Powered by Google

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Most beautiful castles in Lithuania
Photo from Flickr, copyright Makser

Historic Site of the week

Derbent Fortress

Derbent is the southernmost city in Russia, occupying the narrow gateway between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains connecting the Eurasian steppes to the north and the Iranian Plateau to the south. Derbent claims to be the oldest city in Russia with historical documentation dating to the 8th century BCE. Due to its strategic location, over the course of history, the city changed ownership many times, particularly among the Persian, Arab, Mongol, Timurid, Shirvan and Iranian kingdoms.

Derbent has archaeological structures over 5,000 years old. As a result of this geographic peculiarity, the city developed between two walls, stretching from the mountains to the sea. These fortifications were continuously employed for a millennium and a half, longer than any other extant fortress in the world.

A traditionally and historically Iranian city, the first intensive settlement in the Derbent area dates from the 8th century BC. The site was intermittently controlled by the Persian monarchs, starting from the 6th century BC. Until the 4th century AD, it was part of Caucasian Albania which was a satrap of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. In the 5th century Derbent functioned as a border fortress and the seat of Sassanid Persians. Because of its strategic position on the northern branch of the Silk Route, the fortress was contested by the Khazars in the course of the Khazar-Arab Wars. In 654, Derbent was captured by the Arabs.

The Sassanid fortress does not exist any more, as the famous Derbent fortress as it stands today was built from the 12th century onward. Derbent became a strong military outpost and harbour of the Sassanid empire. During the 5th and 6th centuries, Derbent also became an important center for spreading the Christian faith in the Caucasus.

The site continued to be of great strategic importance until the 19th century. Today the fortifications consist of two parallel defence walls and Naryn-Kala Citadel. The walls are 3.6km long, stretching from the sea up to the mountains. They were built from stone and had 73 defence towers. 9 out of the 14 original gates remain.

In Naryn-Kala Citadel most of the old buildings, including a palace and a church, are now in ruins. It also holds baths and one of the oldest mosques in the former USSR.

In 2003, UNESCO included the old part of Derbent with traditional buildings in the World Heritage List.

Map Top Sights Tags Historical Periods City Guides About Us Sign Up Upload new site
© 2020 SpottingHistory.com. All rights reserved.