George Clooney directed and starred in "Monuments Men", and many scenes were filmed in Rammelsberg.

Rammelsberg—Filming Location for George Clooney's Hollywood Film 'Monuments Men'

"And action!", echoed several times over the Rammelsberger Werkstrasse in 2013. "Clooney in Goslar," "Hollywood in the Harz," and "Shooting in Goslywood," were the headlines across the news. Hollywood star George Clooney spent a week in Rammelsberg and Goslar filming his movie "The Monuments Men", which was released in 2014.

The crew filmed at various locations along the conveyor line at Rammelsberg and sometimes completely redesigned these locations with their backdrops. – © Michael Turtle

In this area, the film crew set up a complete refugee camp with provisional beds, simple furniture, suitcases, etc. At 8:00 a.m. it still looked like in the picture, at 11:00 a.m. one had the feeling of being in a refugee camp at the end of the Second World War. People with meagre belongings in all corners and niches of this stretch... – © Michael Turtle

A few weeks before the film shooting, George Clooney visited places like this with the Rammelsberg staff to gather information. – © Michael Turtle

The crew filmed at various locations along the conveyor line at Rammelsberg and sometimes completely redesigned these locations with their backdrops. – © Michael Turtle

In the film starring George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, Jean Dujardin and John Goodman, the Monuments Men search for masterpieces stolen by the Nazis during WWII. Together they start the greatest treasure hunt of the twentieth century. The film had its European premiere at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival (06.02.2014).

The crew consisted of over 80 vehicles loaded with more than 400 tons of material. Nearly 2,000 extras from the region also took part in the production. Set designers and prop masters prepared filming locations both above and below ground that were so authentic that even the employees had difficulty distinguishing between the film scenes and the original site. The shooting lasted about a week, and then the 250 employees of the Babelsberg film production made their way into the Upper Harz Mountains. Tours continued in the site, giving the visitors a chance to catch a glimpse of a Hollywood blockbuster in the making.

Who were the monuments men?

The “Monuments Men”, were a group of around 345 men and women from 13 countries who made up the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives subcommission during World War II. Most had expertise as museum directors, curators, art scholars and educators, artists, architects, and archivists. Their job description was to save as much of Europe's culture as they could during combat.

These men and women understood the grave threat that war posed to the cultural and artistic achievements of civilization, and risked their lives on the front lines to do something about it. Learn more