Zollmuseum

The Zollmuseum Friedrichs in Aachen-Horbach sits right on the Dutch border and was founded in 1984 by Christian Friedrichs, a retired head of the Aachen North Customs Office, as a private museum dedicated to the history of customs and tariffs. Spread across 22 rooms of the former border customs building, some 3,000 exhibits trace the evolution of duties — from medieval revenue instruments to the protection of local economies and the practicalities of smuggling along this Franco-Dutch-German border region. Highlights include a collection of confiscated contraband and an exhibit on illicit distilling markets. Admission is free, giving the museum an accessible, community-minded character that reflects its origins as one retired official's lifetime passion project.