Deutsches Röntgen-Museum

About the museum

Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen was born on March 27, 1845, into a family of cloth makers in Lennep, now a district of Remscheid. In 1895, at the University of Würzburg, he discovered the rays named after him, and in 1901 he received the first Nobel Prize in Physics for it. In 1932, a museum was established in his hometown, and it has been devoted ever since to his life, his discovery, and its consequences.

The museum stands on the edge of Lennep's old town in a traditional Bergisch patrician house, the former Oelbermann villa, which has been enlarged several times with additions. As part of the Regionale 2006 program, the museum was thoroughly redesigned and given a glass entrance building clad in stainless steel; the first construction phase opened in 2007, and the redesign was completed in 2022 with a new section on medical imaging. Across some 2,100 square meters, the exhibition relies heavily on hands-on stations, experiments, and reconstructed historic laboratories.

The collection comprises more than 155,000 objects – equipment from diagnostics and radiation therapy as well as from materials testing, baggage scanners, and X-ray telescopes. About a quarter is on display; the rest is kept in a storage facility in Radevormwald-Dahlerau. Selected X-ray images made by the scientist have been part of UNESCO's Memory of the World register since 2025. The museum also manages the awarding of the City of Remscheid's Röntgen Plaque, and Röntgen's modernized birth house is only about 200 meters away.

Highlights

• Röntgen's X-ray images, some listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World register
• Reconstructed historic laboratories
• Experiment stations and the RöLab museum lab
• The “Gläserne Frau” (Transparent Woman) exhibit
• Röntgen's birth house about 200 meters away

Permanent exhibitions

• Röntgen und die Welt des Unsichtbaren – A tour from Röntgen's discovery and the research into the rays to their applications today in medicine, technology, and science, with many hands-on stations.

Founded

1932

Operated by

Stadt Remscheid

Director

Dr. Uwe Busch

Admission & discounts

Multiple discounts cannot be combined.

Accessibility

• Partially wheelchair accessible
• Elevator
• 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
• Audio description

Largely accessible; an elevator connects the basement, first, second, and third floors. The exhibition room in the cellar of the old building can only be reached via a very steep ramp, and an electric wheelchair is provided for it. Accessible restroom with baby changing table on the first floor; lightweight folding chairs and illuminated magnifiers available to borrow. Audio guide with audio description and in plain language, video guide in German Sign Language.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Baby changing facilities

Children's audio play as an audio guide and a digital museum scavenger hunt for families. The X-Club (children ages 10 to 15) leads children through the museum on the first Sunday of the month at 14:00; plus holiday courses. Baby changing table in the accessible restroom on the first floor.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

• Museum shop

Museum shop on the first floor.

Events & venue rental

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

Plan your visit