Westwallmuseum Pirmasens

Festungswerk Gerstfeldhöhe

Useful Information

Location:	In der Litzelbach 2, 66955 Pirmasens. Pirmasens, suburb Niedersimten. (49.1750326, 7.5956275)
Open:	APR to OCT Sat, Sun 13-17. [2023]
Fee:	Adults EUR 5, School Pupils EUR 6, Children (0-6) frei, Students EUR 6, DIsabled EUR 6. Groups (10+): Adults EUR 6. Gúided tours: EUR 55. [2023]
Classification:	World War II Bunker Westwall
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=5,000 m, T=8 °C.
Guided tours:	D=1.5 h, L=1,000 m.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Westwall Museumsverein HGS Gerstfeldhöhe e.V., In der Litzelbach 2, 66955 Pirmasens, Tel: +49-6331-46147, Fax: +49-6331-2190090. E-mail: Appointments: Stadtverwaltung Pirmasens, Tel: +49-6331-46147.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1938	start of work on the Festungswerkes Gerstfeldhöhe.
1940	work stopped because of Atlantikwall.

Description

The fortification Festungswerk Gerstfeldhöhe was the biggest of all 11 fortifications of the A-Werk class between Aachen and the Weißenburger Senke. Planned were 14 km of passages, machine halls, a military hospital, barracks for 800 men, and ammunition depots, completely underground. But the work was stopped before its completion, to work on the Atlantikwall instead.

About 1.000 m of the Tunnel of fortification was furbished as a museum by a local non-profit association, to create the Westwallmuseum. Since its inauguration in 1997, the museum continually grew, a lot of showcases were filled, and dioramas created. The tunnel is filled with original items from this time, even huge machinery like a tank.

The entrance area after the ticket office was equipped with a typical Eingangsverteidung (entrance defense) of this time: a machine gun and a telephone. A huge collection of bombs in their original state is shown, German, US-American, and British bombs are collected in the main passage. Partly, they were never thrown and are thus completely intact, others were discovered during construction works after the war and were disarmed. A diorama shows US soldiers with Jeep and motorbike. A mine showcase shows different mine types, especially a glass mine which was a try to build a metal-free mine, to make disarming of the mine even more difficult. As the metal casing was replaced by glass, the mine was not found by metal detectors. On the other hand, this mine was fragile and was thus was so dangerous, it often killed the personnel placing the mine. Modern mines are made of plastic, for the same reason.