Zollmuseum Friedrichs
Museum in the former customs office Aachen-Horbach on the Dutch border: customs, border, and smuggling history, accessible only with a free guided tour.
About the museum
The customs museum was founded in 1984 by Christian Friedrichs, a former head of the Hauptzollamt Aachen-Nord (main customs office), whose name it bears. Today it is one of the museums of the city of Aachen.
The museum uses the office and residential building of the former customs office Aachen-Horbach directly on the border with the Netherlands. The brick building from 1933 consists of a two-story main house with a mansard roof and a single-story clearance wing; it has been under heritage protection since 1998.
About 3,000 objects are spread across roughly 22 rooms. They range from tolls and customs in antiquity and the Middle Ages through boundary stones and the German Customs Union of 1834 to the work of customs in the present day. Particularly vivid is the smuggling of the postwar period on the Aachen border, documented by caltrops, prepared shoes, and other aids. Further sections deal with the inner-German border as well as species protection, brand piracy, and drug control.
Highlights
- Former Horbach customs office from 1933 directly on the border
- Postwar smuggling equipment such as caltrops
- Original boundary stones from the Aachen area
- Section on the inner-German border
- Confiscated goods: species protection and brand piracy
Permanent exhibitions
- Zoll, Grenze und Schmuggel – About 3,000 objects in 22 rooms on the history of tolls and customs, on border demarcation, smuggling after 1945, and the present-day tasks of customs.
- Founded
- 1984
- Operated by
- Stadt Aachen
Admission & discounts
Admission is free.
| Adults | free |
|---|---|
| Children & teens | –Admission and public guided tours are free for everyone. |
| Groups | –Group tour (approx. 15 people, 90 minutes) €105 per group; school tour €67.50. |
Accessibility
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Kids & families
The museum hasn’t published any information on this – please ask the museum directly.
Getting there & parking
By public transit
Bus line 44.
By car
Parking available
Parking lot at the museum.
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 · approx. 1.5 hrs |
|---|---|
| School programs | yes |
| Good to know | The museum is accessible only as part of guided tours. Public tours for individuals and families without registration; group and school tours by arrangement by phone, inquiries to museumsdienst@mail.aachen.de. |
Museums nearby
Internationales Zeitungsmuseum
Neuer Aachener Kunstverein
Centre Charlemagne
Domschatzkammer Aachen
Couven-Museum
Ludwig Forum für Internationale Kunst
All 9 museums in Aachen All museums in North Rhine-Westphalia