RiesKraterMuseum

About the museum

The impact of an asteroid about 15 million years ago created the Nördlinger Ries, an almost circular crater some 25 kilometers in diameter. In 1960 Eugene Shoemaker and Edward Chao proved, on the basis of high-pressure minerals, that it is an impact crater. In the 1970s Apollo astronauts practiced geological fieldwork in the Ries for their lunar missions – a link to space exploration that the museum maintains to this day.

The museum opened on May 6, 1990, in the presence of Eugene and Carolyn Shoemaker and Edward Chao. It occupies the Holzhofstadel, a massive storehouse from 1503 that belonged to the Heilig-Geist-Spital (Hospital of the Holy Spirit) complex and was elaborately converted for museum use between 1985 and 1990. The square in front of the building bears Shoemaker's name.

In six rooms the exhibition explains the solar system, asteroids and comets, the sequence of an impact and its consequences for rock, landscape and life up to the present day. Among the best-known pieces are a moon rock from the Apollo 16 mission on permanent loan and a piece of the Neuschwanstein meteorite, which fell in 2002. The town of Nördlingen runs the museum in association with the Staatliche Naturwissenschaftliche Sammlungen Bayerns (Bavarian State Natural History Collections); affiliated are a research center, a library, a geological teaching garden and information on the UNESCO Global Geopark Ries. More than one million visitors have come since the opening.

Highlights

• Moon rock from the Apollo 16 mission
• Neuschwanstein meteorite and other meteorites
• Impact rocks such as suevite from the Ries
• Impact film and interactive media on the impact
• Historic Holzhofstadel from 1503
• Geological teaching garden at the museum

Permanent exhibitions

• Dauerausstellung: Der Asteroideneinschlag im Ries – Six rooms lead from the solar system through the physics of an impact to its consequences for the Ries region – with meteorites, impact rocks, fossils, moon rock, films and hands-on stations.

Founded

1990

Operated by

Stadt Nördlingen (im Verbund der Staatlichen Naturwissenschaftlichen Sammlungen Bayerns)

Director

Christian Bergemann

Admission & discounts

Tickets only at the museum ticket desk.

Accessibility

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

According to the town of Nördlingen, the museum is accessible. Dogs are not allowed, except assistance and therapy dogs. Website also available in Easy Language (Leichte Sprache).

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kids

• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide

Tours are recommended from age 10 or for school classes from grade 4. Museum rally to download for grades 5–7.

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