Place of remembrance in the former customs building at the northernmost inner-German border crossing in Lübeck-Schlutup.
April 18, 2026 – October 14, 2026
Traveling exhibition by the Hamburg Metropolitan Region on the creation, transformation, and overcoming of the border in the north, complemented by interviews with eyewitnesses from Schlutup.
From 1945 to 1990, the inner-German border ran right next to Schlutup. The village had the northernmost crossing point between West Germany and the GDR and at the same time the only one located within a major city; in addition to passenger traffic, transit traffic to the Baltic ports also passed through here. The border line ran from the Bay of Lübeck along the Trave and Wakenitz rivers to Lake Ratzeburg.
After the border opened, the installations quickly disappeared. Local residents began collecting mementos and personal accounts, and in 1999 the city acquired the former customs and Federal Border Guard processing building from the federal government. A friends' association set up an exhibition there that opened on November 9, 2004, and was run by volunteers for around two decades – with uniforms, maps, photos, a terrain relief model, and escape objects such as an inflatable boat, plus a section of wall, a piece of border fence, and a Trabant outdoors.
Since 2025 the Hanseatic City of Lübeck has coordinated the site. Around 3,400 objects have been inventoried, digitized, and placed in storage; at the end of 2025 the association ended its work on site, and the former exhibition is preserved as a virtual 3D tour. Since 2026 the site has been showing special exhibitions and hosting readings and discussion evenings while a new concept as a modern place of learning and remembrance is being developed. A closer link with the Grenzhus Schlagsdorf on the former GDR side is also under discussion.
Admission is free.
While the site is being reorganized, visits are free.
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.
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.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Guided tours for groups of 10 or more on request via the contact form on the website. Accompanying program with lectures, readings, and storytelling salons. |
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