World-famous works of art and the world's best fakes

Art lovers will strike gold at the Von der Heydt Museum in Wuppertal. 3,000 paintings, 400 sculptures and 30,000 graphic images spanning several centuries are on display in changing exhibitions. All originals, of course. But things are a little different at the Plagiarius Museum in Solingen where the focus is on well-made counterfeits.

Unknown rays and craftsmanship brought to life

The invisible becomes visible at the Röntgen Museum in the old town of Lennep where you can try your hand at experimenting with X-rays.

Hammer mills, cottages and forges in the Wupper valley are stone testimonies to a bygone era. Try for yourself and see how people worked here when industrialisation began and revolutionised production and manufacturing. 

Revolutionary inventions and groundbreaking ideas

The Bergisches Land is considered the cradle of progress. There is evidence of this in the German Blade Museum and the German Tool Museum.

But not everyone felt that industrialisation was a good thing. Friedrich Engels saw it as a threat and enslavement of humanity. You can follow in the footsteps of the city’s famous son and co-founder of socialism at the Engels House.