Strafvollzugsmuseum Ludwigsburg
Museum on the history of punishment, detention, and the penal system in the former Tollhaus next to Ludwigsburg Palace – with guillotines and RAF objects.
About the museum
When the closure of the Ludwigsburg correctional facility became foreseeable in the 1980s, staff from the justice and corrections systems, judges, and lawyers joined forces to preserve its historical holdings. This led to the founding of the Förderverein Strafvollzugsmuseum Ludwigsburg e.V. (friends' association), which still runs the museum today.
The core of the collection is a teaching collection assembled around 1930, once used to train supervisory staff. Added to this are legal-history objects from roughly three centuries – including shackles and two guillotines – as well as items from the modern penal system. The holdings now comprise nearly 5,000 objects.
The museum opened in September 1988, initially on the ground floor, with the upper floor added a few years later. It is housed in a listed 18th-century building that belonged to the workhouse and house of correction founded in 1736 and originally served as a Tollhaus (madhouse). Since 2025, the research room "RAF Fragmente" with objects from Stuttgart-Stammheim has complemented the exhibition.
Highlights
- Two guillotines and other legal-history objects
- Teaching collection from around 1930
- Recreated prison cell and prisoner clothing
- Research room "RAF Fragmente" with objects from Stammheim
- Free admission, tours for groups of five or more
Permanent exhibitions
- Folter, Haft und Strafe – Across two floors, the collection shows objects from early modern criminal law to the present-day penal system, from shackles and guillotines to the cell.
- RAF Fragmente – Continually expanded research room with objects from Stuttgart-Stammheim prison and from the RAF trials.
- Founded
- 1988
- Operated by
- Förderverein Strafvollzugsmuseum Ludwigsburg e.V.
- Director
- Denis Bury
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
| Groups (5+ people) | –Tours for groups of five or more by registration via the inquiry form. |
|---|
Free admission, donations welcome.
Accessibility
- Wheelchair accessible: not available
- Elevator: not available
- Accessible restroom: no information
- Accessible parking: no information
- Service dogs welcome: no information
- Tactile models & exhibits: no information
- Sign language tours: no information
- Easy-to-read materials: no information
- Audio description: no information
Access via a few steps; the upper floor is reachable only by stairs. Seating in almost all rooms; texts also available in large print.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Blühendes Barock · 5-min walk
Bus to the Blühendes Barock stop.
By car
Paid parking lots in the surrounding area as well as parking garages in downtown Ludwigsburg.
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
| Guided tours | yes |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | Individual visits without registration during opening hours; on Wednesdays the museum director is usually available for conversations. Groups (school classes, training groups, companies, clubs) are given tours by registration. Exhibition texts also in English and French; a museum library is available. |
