Outpost One – Is this the best Star Wars museum in Europe that you can visit?

Me: Just how big can the Star Wars fandom be?
Outpost One: Yes

What looks from the outside like an unremarkable row of old houses on the site of a former, historic arms factory actually hides a Star Wars universe of its own inside – created by fans for fans. Outpost One is Germany’s Star Wars museum, located in the small town of Dassow in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, about a 30-minute drive from Lübeck or 1.5 hours from Hamburg.

The moment you take your first step into the Stardust Café at Outpost One, you’ll feel a bit like you’re walking through an Imperial base. You’ll be greeted right away by R2-D2 and C-3PO.

Then you’ll go through the entrance, where you’ll pick up your tickets and get a briefing. You’ll walk past Han Solo and Lando Calrissian, straight into the Rebel hangar, where an X-wing fighter is parked and is just being started up. If you’d like, you can grab a coffee and a piece of cake in the cafeteria afterward.

There are only a handful of similar Star Wars museums or exhibitions of this kind worldwide:

• Stars of the Galaxy (Mönchengladbach, Germany)
• The Lucas Museum of Narrative Art (Los Angeles, U.S.)
• Rancho Obi-Wan (Petaluma, USA)
• The Fans Strike Back (The World’s Largest Fan Exhibition, held at various locations such as Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Munich)
• Star Wars: The Experience (Traveling Exhibition in North America, Starting in Philadelphia)

Tickets for Outpost One

In addition to the building that houses the entrance and the Stardust Café, the grounds consist of three other halls as well as an area with apartments for guests who would like to stay overnight here:

1. Stardust Café: Entrance, Rebel Hangar, Café, Restrooms, Gift Shop
2. Hall 1: Lifesize Exhibition
3. Hall 2: Scale Miniature Exhibition
4. Hall 3: Hangar
5. Accommodations: Apartments for overnight guests only

Depending on your budget and time, you can purchase different types of admission to the three halls, including combination tickets. The main exhibition, which will likely take you the longest to explore, is Hall 1, and admission is €30 for adults. A visit to all three halls with a combo ticket and the standard ticket for the Hangar costs €50 per person.

Personally, I found Hall 1 the most exciting. Hall 2 also really fascinated me, but it took less time to go through. Hall 3 was a cool bonus, but you can get through it pretty quickly.

May the Force be with you!

Text on the admission ticket at Outpost One

You can buy tickets on site. Since the daily number of visitors and tickets is limited, I’d recommend booking a ticket online in advance.

Yet Outpost One is still far from complete. Several new features are currently in development:

• An Escape Adventure
• Lounge (with pool and darts)
• There’s also now a small movie theater with 22 seats, which you have to reserve. However, the seats are free of charge. Of course, they show Star Wars movies, but also other Lucasfilm classics like Indiana Jones.

Hall 1: Lifesize

• What? About 30 film sets with over 100 figures spread across approximately 1,300 m²
• How long? About 1–2 hours
• Admission? €30

Here, you’ll walk through various rooms where life-size figures are on display. As you do so, you’ll experience the story of the three classic Star Wars movies in chronological order through various locations:

1. Entrance
2. Tantive IV – The very first starship from “Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope”
3. Tatooine – The Desert Planet
4. Death Star
5. Hoth, the ice planet from “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back”
6. Executor – Darth Vader’s Super Star Destroyer
7. Dagobah – Jedi Master Yoda’s Exile
8. Bespin – Cloud City, run by Lando Calrissian
9. Jabba the Hutt’s Palace
10. Endor – The Forest Moon of the Ewoks
11. Emperor

On touchscreens located throughout the rooms, you can learn a lot about the set’s design and how the sets have changed over time through videos, graphics, and text. At the audio panels, you can listen to the story from Luke Skywalker’s perspective (in German and English).

I also thought the many sound effects were cool – some of which are triggered by motion sensors when you enter the rooms. But if you stay in a room long enough, you’ll hear lots of other little details, too.

The figures – many of which are fan art – are, in some cases, extremely well done:

• Right from the start of the very first set, I thought I was actually standing next to Darth Vader and that he was about to choke me with the Force.
• As I stood right next to Chewbacca, I was practically waiting to hear his signature roar.
• And the many Han Solo figures looked so real that I thought I was about to have a conversation with Harrison Ford.

There are also countless items and collectibles from all kinds of series and movies in the Star Wars universe to discover.

Hall 2: Scale

• What? 1:6-scale miniature figures
• How long? About 45 minutes
• Admission? €20

In Exhibition 2, you’ll discover a small Star Wars miniature wonderland featuring lots of model spaceships and even a replica of Mos Espa on the planet Tatooine. You can also check out the Millennium Falcon, Boba Fett’s ship, and a Jawa-built, track-driven sandcrawler.

Every time you press a button on the control modules mounted on the walls, sound effects from the movies play.

Hall 3: Hangar

• What? A hangar that’s part of the Empire and part of a Rebel base.
• How long? About 15 minutes
• Admission? €5

Here, you can see four life-size ships – including a TIE fighter – in a replica hangar. However, you can only view the models from a distance, either through a glass wall or from the upper level via a staircase.

Tours at Outpost One

If you’d like to have an even more unique experience, Outpost One also offers special tours.

VIP Tour

Here, you can walk through all three exhibition halls (Lifesize, Scale, and Hangar) in a small group over the course of four hours. What makes this tour special is that it takes place in the evening, without other visitors, and includes a photo safari at exclusive photo spots that aren’t accessible during regular tours.

Premium Tickets

Premium tickets are available for Hall 1, Hall 2, and both halls combined. They’re similar to the VIP tour, but take place during the day. You’ll be guided by a tour guide in a small group, get access to additional photo spots, and be allowed inside the hangar.

Pilot Academy

Here, you’ll have the opportunity to take part in simulation training in various cockpits using a simulator, and you can also sit in the Snowspeeder in Hall 1 and take photos.

Overnight Stays at Outpost One

You can even spend the night on the grounds. You’ll sleep in one of three specially designed Star Wars apartments or rooms:

• Medical Bay – Apartment
• Desert Hut – Apartment
• Princess Leia’s Cell Block – Only 1 room with an attached shower room

The room rate at Mediacal Bay and the Desert Cabin includes standard tours of Halls 1 and 2.

Is Outpost One available in English?

Partly. With the standard tickets for Hall 1 and the combo ticket for Halls 1 and 2, you can choose between a German or English audio guide, so you’ll be able to follow everything without speaking German. The guided Premium and VIP tours, however, are held in German only. The Scale exhibition and the hangar are self-guided anyway, so language isn’t really an issue there.

What else to do in this region?

If you want to visit the Outpost One Star Wars museum, combine it with a visit in Germanys 2nd largest city Hamburg or the old town of Lübeck, which is als a UNESCO world heritage:

18 Lübeck sights for a perfect day trip to the mother of the Hanseatic League

Hamburg sights: The 18 best highlights of the Hanseatic city for a weekend

Or combine it with a roadtrip along germanys Baltic Sea Coast:

Baltic Sea itinerary: Best 2 week road trip along the coast

Are you a Star Wars fan, too, and would you like to immerse yourself in the world of that galaxy far, far away? Have you ever been to this Star Wars museum or a Star Wars exhibition in Germany or elsewhere? What did you think of it? Let us know in the comments.