Discover, experience, decipher: Open locked doors and tricky trick locks while learning how people have protected themselves and their belongings over the past 4,000 years.

Why did Roman women wear a key on their finger? How does a lock cylinder work? And why did people in Velbert start making keys and locks? The German Lock and Fitting Museum tells the storey of around 4,000 years of locking and security technology. The permanent exhibition features exhibits from various eras – from Egyptian cylinder seals to a French safe. Touching is expressly allowed: Visitors can pick up keys, try their hand at trick locks and unlock doors.

This approach runs through the entire exhibit: interactive and multimedia stations as well as working models repeatedly invite visitors to try things out. There is also a special walking tour for families, where children can solve exciting puzzles and playfully immerse themselves in the world of keys, locks and fittings.

In 2021, the new museum building opened with a modern exhibition space. The museum's changing special exhibitions are shown in the Gründerzeit-era Villa Herminghaus, once the residence of a family of industrialists.