German Inland Waterways Museum, Maritime museum in Ruhrort, Germany
The German Inland Waterways Museum occupies a converted Art Nouveau building and displays ships, navigation tools, and artifacts from waterway history. The collection documents how goods and people moved across Germany's rivers and canals.
The museum was founded in 1974 when the vessel Oscar Huber was acquired and moved to its current Art Nouveau building in 1998. This location reflects how the waterway trade once made Ruhrort a major commercial port.
The museum shows how inland vessels shaped regional life and how people once worked on the water. The exhibits tell stories of the craftspeople, boat captains, and merchants who relied on these waterways.
The building is open Tuesday through Sunday and is fully accessible to visitors with mobility needs. Wear comfortable shoes as the exhibition spans multiple levels, including the former indoor pool area where vessels are displayed.
A full-size sailing vessel fills the space of the former men's section, while a reconstructed cargo barge occupies what was once the women's pool. This creative reuse of swimming areas makes the ship collection feel like part of the building's original purpose.
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