Atomkeller-Museum

About the museum

As Berlin came under increasingly heavy bombing from 1943, the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physics moved parts of its work to Hohenzollern. In 1944 the physicists around Werner Heisenberg and Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker set up their experimental reactor in a beer cellar belonging to the landlord of Haigerloch's Schwanen inn, deep in the shell-limestone rock beneath the Schlosskirche and thus protected from air raids.

In spring 1945 the last major reactor experiment of German uranium research took place here. A self-sustaining chain reaction was never achieved. Shortly afterwards, the American special unit ALSOS occupied the town, arrested the scientists, recovered the hidden uranium and heavy water, and dismantled the facility. The planned demolition of the cellar was limited to smaller blasts after the town priest pointed out the danger to the church above.

The town of Haigerloch opened a museum in the cellar in 1980. It tells the story of nuclear fission from Otto Hahn, Fritz Straßmann and Lise Meitner to the end of the war and displays a faithful replica of the reactor. Since 2000 the museum has also owned measuring instruments from the former Berlin Institute for Chemistry, where nuclear fission was discovered.

For Heisenberg's 100th birthday in 2002, an exhibition about his life was created; it is now on permanent display in the neighboring Ölmühle (oil mill). In 2013 the Atomkeller-Museum was completely redesigned with funding from the LEADER program and expanded with display panels and media stations.

Highlights

• Original site of the last German reactor experiment in 1945
• Replica of the Haigerloch research reactor
• Original instruments from Otto Hahn's circle
• Permanent exhibition on Werner Heisenberg in the Ölmühle next door
• Media stations and audio documents since the 2013 redesign

Permanent exhibitions

• Atomkeller – der Haigerlocher Forschungsreaktor – The history of German uranium research from the discovery of nuclear fission to the 1945 reactor experiment, with a replica of the reactor in the original cellar.
• Werner Heisenberg – Leben und Wirken – Documents and photos on physicist Werner Heisenberg, shown in the Ölmühle next to the Atomkeller.

Founded

1980

Operated by

Stadt Haigerloch

Admission & discounts

The ticket is also valid for the Heisenberg exhibition in the Ölmühle. Free admission with the AlbCard; €1 discount with a same-day bwtarif ticket, Deutschland-Ticket or D-Ticket JugendBW (bwegtPlus).

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

According to the town, there is wheelchair-accessible entry and an accessible restroom.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.

Plan your visit