Universitätsgebäude, Science museum in the Röntgenring 8 building, Würzburg, Germany

The Röntgen Memorial Site occupies the foyer, corridors and two ground-floor laboratory rooms of the former Physics Institute of the University of Würzburg at Röntgenring 8, a building now used by the University of Applied Sciences Würzburg-Schweinfurt. The historic laboratory where Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered X-rays on 8 November 1895 is part of the exhibition, alongside a cathode-ray experiment set-up and an X-ray penetration demonstration.

On the evening of 8 November 1895, Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered the rays he called X-rays in his laboratory in the former Physics Institute of the University of Würzburg. He presented the work to the Physical Medical Society on 23 January 1896, and Albert von Kölliker proposed naming the rays after him. The memorial site opened on 7 November 1985; the street was renamed Röntgenring in 1909.

The street outside was renamed Röntgenring in 1909 in his honour, and the site is run by the non-profit Röntgen-Kuratorium Würzburg, founded in 1981, which opened the memorial on 7 November 1985. During the 23 January 1896 lecture, anatomist Albert von Kölliker proposed calling the rays Röntgenstrahlen, the term still used in Germany.

Visiting is possible on weekdays during daytime hours, while weekend opening times are shorter and the building closes entirely on holidays. It makes sense to check current hours before visiting, as these may vary depending on the season.

The site opened on 7 November 1985, run by the non-profit Kuratorium founded in 1981, which has maintained the rooms since December 1982. Its displays were reworked for the 125th anniversary in 2020, and since a 2015 remodeling the labels are in German and English.