Schifffahrtsmuseum, Maritime museum in Schlossturm, Düsseldorf, Germany.
The Schifffahrtsmuseum in the Schlossturm presents the history of Rhine navigation through ship models, documents, and artifacts displayed across multiple floors of a medieval tower. The collection documents how shipping and port techniques evolved and how people working on the river lived and organized their trade.
The collection began in 1930 and moved to the Schlossturm in 1984, a tower that survived the castle's destruction in 1872. This location connected the museum's mission to the river's ongoing role in the city's life.
River trade shaped the exhibits, showing how ships and harbor work influenced life along the Rhine across generations. You see old photographs and personal items that reveal how sailors and their families lived daily on the water.
The museum sits at Burgplatz 30 with entry through the tower's ground level, and you climb narrow stairs to explore the upper floors. Opening times run from Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00 to 18:00, making it easiest to visit when you have an hour to spare.
The top floor holds a café where you watch ships pass on the river while having refreshments. From this vantage point, you see the living waterway exactly as workers once did, making the museum's collection feel connected to ongoing river life.
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