This is a great stop for an hour or two while you are exploring Rothenburg! The admission is only…read more7€ for adults,l with reduced fees for others (3.50€ for students, 4€ for college students, 6€ for seniors & 17€ for families which includes 2 adults and children under 18). The museum houses an array of artifacts and replicas of torture decides and items used as punishment during medieval times. These items range from humiliating masks to torture chairs and finger presses, then up to a Iron Madden. There is also a lot to read and see on the justice system and rules that dictated crimes and punishments. All of it was very fascinating and there was a lot to learn. Some of our favorites were all the masks used to draw attention and humiliate an offended, such as one that whistled every time the wearer breathed, so everyone knew where they were. The plaques where in German with most having English translations below. Oh, and turns out you can bring your dog in as we found out with others walking around. They also have a great cafe after you are done in another building. This is a great stop for a hot chocolate or coffee and to try a mini schneeballen. Highly recommend adding this museum to your list while in Rothenberg!

We took a break from Christmas market and visited this museum right when it opened. It's €7/adult,…read morecollected at the door. You start in the basement and go down these steep and rather dim stairs. The lighting is a bit dim down there giving an overall eerie vibe to the place. I suppose that's intentional. Displays are well laid out and most of the plaques are in a German, English and Japanese. At the far end of the basement, there are stairs to get to the 2 floors above with more displays. The lighting is a bit better up there. There's a lot to look at so if you get tired, wooden benches are placed all around to take breaks. The WCs are also upstairs. Everything is informative and interesting. There's quite a bit of duplication. People have found so many ways to hurt each other throughout history. I also found it a bit depressing in contrast to the spirit of the Christmas market. Glad I went as it's a popular museum and recommended by friends who went but I won't be coming back.