The German Gliding Museum, Aviation museum at Wasserkuppe, Germany.
The German Gliding Museum is an aviation museum on the Wasserkuppe in Gersfeld, Germany, displaying aircraft from many different periods of soaring flight. The collection ranges from early hang gliders to fiberglass sailplanes and covers the full arc of German gliding history.
The museum was founded in 1987, growing out of celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the first Rhön gliding contest. That contest started in 1920 on the Wasserkuppe and is seen as a turning point in the history of soaring flight.
The museum takes its name from the gliding pioneers who ran their first experiments on the Wasserkuppe. Inside, a memorial hall holds a bronze statue of Otto Lilienthal, honoring those who risked their lives to make flight possible.
The museum is open daily from April to October and only on weekends during winter, so the warmer months are the best time to visit. The Wasserkuppe sits at elevation and can be windy, so bringing a warm layer is a good idea even in summer.
Behind the exhibition halls, a restoration workshop is always working on around 25 aircraft that are not part of the permanent display. Visitors who look into the workshop can watch restorers handling real historic gliders up close.
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