Defence Technology Study Collection Koblenz — Attraction in Koblenz

Hands down this is the best military (and weapons platforms) museum I have ever visited. My teenage son and I came upon this place accidentally as we were traveling in the area. But this place should be a target destination for all interested in warfare and its technologies. You could charge $50 a head in Texas for this three Euro fee in Germany.

This museum is big and densely filled, with something for everyone — for your wife, who dreams of being surrounded by hundreds (over 150 years) of Gatling and massive mini-guns; for your little ones, who have always wanted to understand and touch real high explosive anti-tank rounds and shaped charges; for your eldest daughter, who wants to get up close and personal with a Focker VSTOL, HIND F attack helicopters, and cruise missiles; and for you, a floor of sniper and machine guns throughout history.

But I love this place for its inclusion of a two-man U-boat, liquid rocket and numerous gas-turbine jet engines, and real RADAR and other ISR...

Only one word to describe this museum : simply MARVELOUS. This is a pure heaven for the lovers of weapons and military technology. Thousands of pieces, from heavy artillery, tanks, air and sea equipment, medium and light weapons, uniforms, comm equipment. And the stunning thing is that the vast majority of the weapons are in perfect working conditions, and not deactivated. This explains the presence of armed guards and the need to supply an ID document when accessing. Unfortunately I did not expect such a HUGE collection (4 floors) and I was quite in a hurry, so I was able to dedicate only a couple of hours to the visit. But I think that a complete day is not sufficient for somebody who wants to look at the details of all the interesting, rare, stunning pieces of this museum. 3 Eur admission fee is the cherry on the cake. I've visited several military museums in my life, but this is the one that impressed me the most over all. Absolutely worth a trip to Koblenz for...

An incredible collection: the museum holds a wide range of military equipment (guns, comms, optics, etc.) Including heavy artillery, tanks, aircraft and armoured vehicles on the lower floor.

What sets this collection apart from others is the number of prototypes and unbuilt designs included, e.g. (tanks) US/Ger MBT70, Leopard 2 prototype, various tank destroyer concepts (turretless, twin-gun, etc.); (aircraft) F104CCV concept, Fokkers VTOL (Harrier type) plus their "flying bedstead" type trial vehicle; (guns) a collection of G11 prototypes showing the changes between them.

Probably more for the military nerd, but if you are one, it's not to be missed, and perhaps unique (or at least, very unusual) with its focus on prototypes and concepts more than production equipment (though the latter is also...