Footsteps of WWII · Western & southern Germany
Remagen bridge and Peace Museum
Bridge · 7–17 Mar 1945
The story
On 7 March 1945 an advance party of the US 9th Armored Division under 2nd Lt Karl Timmermann reached the Ludendorff railway bridge at Remagen at about 13:00 and found it still standing. The German defenders set off their demolition charges, but the bridge lifted and settled back, damaged but passable. American infantry rushed across under fire, engineers cut the remaining wires, and within days several divisions were on the east bank: the first Allied crossing of the Rhine. Hitler's 'flying court martial' sentenced five German officers to death and four were shot. Weakened by the blast, shelling and air attack, the bridge collapsed into the Rhine on 17 March 1945, killing American engineers working on it. It was never rebuilt.
What to look for
The two black stone towers on the Remagen bank hold the Peace Museum, opened in 1980, with the story of the bridge, photographs and the theme of war and peace. On the far bank the Erpel towers stand in front of a railway tunnel. Only the stumps of the piers ever remained.
Plan your visit
Open from early March to 1 November: weekends only in early March, then daily (Monday afternoons only) roughly 10:00–17:00, until 18:00 May–August. Adults €6. Guided group tours bookable. Closed November to early March.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
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Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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