Imagine being able to walk out onto the wing of a Boeing 747, then to climb into the world's biggest turboprop transport aircraft, before peering into the cockpit of a Soviet Buran spacecraft! It sounds like a dream - but it's all possible at this expansive attraction in Germany. Although just 28 years old, the Technik Museum Speyer, located around 55 miles (88km) south of Frankfurt in Germany's Rheinland Pfalz, can trace its roots back to northern France in 1913 - as bizarre as that sounds. The building that is known as 'Liller Halle' houses most of the collection and was in fact built for the Thomson-Houston Electric Company in Lesquin, near Lille. Following occupation of the French town, German forces dismantled the structure in 1917 and moved it 250 miles (402km) southeast to provide the Pfalz Flugzeugwerke with a factory. Rebuilt by late 1918, the next 70 years included long periods under both German and French control, demands from the latter for the building to be returned and being used to dismantle Imperial German Air Service aircraft in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles. Falling into a state of disrepair during the 1980s, Liller Halle was bought by prominent entrepreneur Eberhard Layher in 1989 as a sister locationfor his Auto δ Technik Museum Sinsheim. With a huge renovation effort beginning in August 1990, which included 26 tons of paint, replacing 1,500 panes of glass and installing around 22,900ft (6,705m) of electrical cables, the site was opened to the public on April 11,1991. Since then, the attraction has become home to around 70 aeroplanes and associated items such as ejection seats, flying helmets and engines across the span of flight - helping to keep Speyer's aviation tradition alive.
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