On March 2008 a contemporary witness monument of the recent past which is unequalled throughout Germany, was handed over its new purpose. The former bunker of the federal government, which is situated in the valley of the river Ahr, opened its nuclear blast-proofed gates as a museum.
Sections of the installation are accessible for visitors, they invite young and old from all over the world.
This aspect interprets both challenge and responsibility for the local history club “Alt-Ahrweiler”, which personifies the maintenance of this documentation centre, because the employees accompany the visitors within the context of their approximate one and a half-hour guided bunker-tour through a subterranean world, which has been bound to maintain strict confidentiality until to the recent past.
The bunker of the federal government inside the valley of the river Ahr has been the most top secret building in the history of the federal Republic of Germany.
Its planning has been realized since 1950.
The federal Chancellor Dr. Konrad Adenauer has been included since its beginning. The German ministry of the interior acted as central coordinator of this project. It decided in favour for two railway tunnels of the former, unfinished strategic railway through the valley mountain range of the river Ahr, after a site reconnaissance lasting for years.
These railway tunnels were extended and converted into the so called “Alternative Accommodation of the Constitutional Organs of the Federal Republic of Germany in a Period of Crisis and wartime”.
An extensive documentation and many original objects in combination with the original scene inform the visitors about a chapter of German history, which was during the era of the Cold war a part of the global mutual deterrence of the atomic powers in the Eastern Bloc and in the Western.
Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday 10.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m.
Last guided tour 4.30 p.m. for individual visitors and groups with registration
Tuesday, Thursday, Friday only open for groups with registration
The Museum is closed from November till March.
Service for individuals (guided tour in a group in German):
8,00 € Adults
7,00 € Seniors
5,00 € Students
3,50 € Children 13-16
Children under 12: free
105,00 € registered groups up to 15 persons
7,00 € / person, registered groups above 15 persons
additional fee for guided tour in foreign language (GB, F, NL, E)
Use our reservation service:
Ahrtal-Tourismus Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler e.V.
D-53474 Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler
Phone: 0049 (0)2641 9171-75
Parking: Use our parking area in front of the museum
Temperature: In the bunker is a low temperature of 12° C/53.6° F.
Mobility Access: The Museum is wheelchair accessible.
Cameras: Still photography for personal use is permitted.
Photo admission: 2,50 €
Strollers: Baby strollers are permitted.
Dogs: Dogs are not permitted.
Getting to The Government Bunker: