Memorial to the Movements for Liberty

This commemorative to the movements for liberty in German history shows the stages in liberal developments and democratic traditions from early modern times to the present. Exhibits, models, pictures, caricatures and contemporary texts illustrate the revolutionary struggle led by men and women throughout Germany in 1848/49, a struggle that ended with the fall of the Rastatt Fortress.

The memorial site was inaugurated in 1974. The museum came about as a branch of the Federal Archives in Koblenz due to the initiative of former Head of State Gustav Heinemann. Heinemann saw an obligation for Germany to uphold and maintain its liberal-democratic traditions. In the words of Heinemann, the choice of venue fell upon Rastatt because "blood had flowed" for liberty here.

The memorial thus found its home in Rastatt's Royal Residential Palace, where first the Revolutionary Council and later on the Prussian courts martial had convened during the Revolution of 1849. Numerous high-ranking public figures have visited the facility since 1974.

Info

Barockresidenz
Herrenstraße 18
76437 Rastatt, FRG
Telefon: +49 (0) 7222 77139-0
Fax: +49 (0) 7222 77139-7
E-Mail: erinnerung@bundesarchiv.de
Internet: www.erinnerungsstaette-rastatt.de und www.bundesarchiv.de/erinnerungsstaette

Opening hours

Open year-round

Sunday till Thursday: 9:30 am - 5:00 pm

Friday: 9:30 am - 2:00 pm

Closed on Saturday
Admission free of charge; Groups: 40 Euro by arrangement