Recklinghausen's city history museum covering urban development, mining and the 20th century – successor to the Vestisches Museum, free admission.
Through November 27, 2026
Photo exhibition by the Landschaftsverband Westfalen-Lippe on today's craft businesses in Westphalia and topics such as sustainability, digitalization and inclusion.
Its roots go back to 1890, when a local history society began collecting artifacts of the town's past. From 1922 the collection was open to the public as the Vestisches Museum – first in the town hall cellar, from 1927 in the Turmschule on Kirchplatz (today's Ikonen-Museum), and from 1935 in the old Gymnasium Petrinum, which was destroyed in an air raid in 1944.
It was not until 1988 that the museum once again had a building of its own, the former AOK administrative building on Hohenzollernstraße. In 2010 the city merged the museum and the city archive into the Institut für Stadtgeschichte (Institute of City History) and closed the old exhibition. Following a redesign, the permanent exhibition "RETRO STATION – Nächster Halt: Vergangenheit!" (Next Stop: The Past!) opened in 2015, staging the tour as a journey through time with train-station stops.
The exhibition is divided into three sections: the town's development from early settlement to around 1900; the mining history of the Vest region from about 1870 until the closure of the collieries; and the upheavals of the 20th century, including the world wars, the Nazi era and immigration. Among the best-known pieces are a medieval tree-trunk well, fragments of the 14th-century town wall, a reconstructed miners' changing house and longwall face, and naive paintings by miners.
Admission is free.
| Children & teens | –Free admission for everyone. |
|---|---|
| Groups | –Group tour €55 per group (max. 25 people), book at least two weeks in advance; free for school classes and daycare groups. |
| Combo tour "Zeitreise durch Recklinghausen" (city tour with museum visit) | €8On select dates; free with the Ruhr.Topcard. |
Free admission; public guided tours free of charge (registration required).
There is an elevator, but its door is very narrow: wheelchairs wider than 60 cm do not fit; a narrow loaner wheelchair is available. Step-free entrance at the back (please ring the bell), one accessible parking space. Some texts in Braille; guided tours in sign language (approx. 1.5 hours) with an interpreter on request. Advance registration recommended at 02361 501907.
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Bruchweg
From Recklinghausen main station, take bus SB 20 (toward Herne Bf) or 235 (toward Stadion Hohenhorst) to the stop Bruchweg, then walk back to the intersection, cross Hohenzollernstraße and turn left.
Parking available
Parking behind the building.
From the A 43 (exit Recklinghausen/Herten) toward the city center; a large winding wheel stands at the entrance.
Get directionsThe museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
| Guided tours | yes · approx. 60 min |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Public guided tour on the last Wednesday of the month at 15:00 as well as themed tours (free of charge, registration at stadtgeschichte@recklinghausen.de). Booked tours only by arrangement at least two weeks in advance. The overview tour of the permanent exhibition takes about 1 to 1.5 hours (groups up to 25 people, from age 6). |
Cookies help you use this website. We only load the map and statistics with your consent.