Siegfriedmuseum Xanten Cologne & Northern Rhineland

The Nibelungenlied (Song of the Nibelungs) is an epic medieval poem about love, jealousy, murder and revenge that shot to international stardom in the 19th century when the composer Richard Wagner turned it into the equally epic four-part opera Der Ring des Nibelungen. The hero of the convoluted plot is Siegfried the dragon slayer who, so goes the myth, was born in Xanten. This modern museum near the Dom lays out the poem's characters, stories and myths in engaging fashion.