Container-village museum in Ramstein-Miesenbach on the history of Americans in Rhineland-Palatinate, with permanent and special exhibitions – free admission.
March 21, 2026 – November 8, 2026
The exhibition traces the history of the Labor Service Units, initially formed from displaced persons after World War II, which gave rise to the civilian support organizations of the U.S. forces that still exist today.
Hardly any region of Germany has been shaped as strongly by the American military presence as the Westpfalz (Western Palatinate). From 1947, U.S. units were stationed near Kaiserslautern; several military airfields were built in the 1950s, and during the Cold War Rhineland-Palatinate was considered the "aircraft carrier of the West." Ramstein Air Base is today the largest U.S. military airfield outside the United States, and the region is home to one of the largest American communities in Europe.
To study this history scientifically, the council of the Verbandsgemeinde (municipal association) Ramstein-Miesenbach unanimously decided in November 2007 to establish the Docu Center Ramstein; the Verbandsgemeinde still runs it today, and the state supported its development. The center collects documents, photos, objects, and eyewitness accounts, maintains several archives and a specialist library, and sees itself as a point of contact for research.
In 2013, an unusual exhibition site made of shipping containers opened on Schernauer Straße. The bilingual permanent exhibition explains the region's German-American postwar history in an introductory container; another is dedicated to the American clubs and their influence on culture in postwar Germany, and a third to the Ramstein air show disaster. There is also the original guardhouse from a former U.S. housing area in Kaiserslautern. Changing special exhibitions are shown in further containers and as an open-air gallery on the site's fence, accompanied by guided tours, excursions, and publications.
Admission is free.
| Children & teens | –Free admission for everyone. |
|---|---|
| Groups | –Guided tours for groups are free. |
Admission and guided tours are free.
According to the Museumsportal Rheinland-Pfalz, the exhibition site is not accessible.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Ramstein Pletsch · 450 m
Bus stop Ramstein Pletsch (approx. 450 m), Ramstein station (approx. 1.1 km).
Parking available
Parking in front of the container village and next to the Reichswald-Stadion.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| Good to know | Free guided tours of the permanent and special exhibitions for individuals and groups by arrangement by phone or in writing, including on special topics; tours and excursions in German and English. Postal address: Verbandsgemeinde Ramstein-Miesenbach, Am Neuen Markt 6. |
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