CITÉ D
L'AUTOMOBILE - AUTO COLLECTION SCHLUMPF
France National Vintage Car Collection in Mulhouse
It
is one of the world’s
great collections of vintage automobiles and racing cars - a stunningly
impressive gathering of car design in
Alsace, France and a curious story of passion for collecting and conflict
of business and labor movement. Known as the Cité d l'Automobile
National Auto Museum Collection Schlumpf or simply the “City
of the Automobile” in Mulhouse, just a stone’s throw from
the Swiss border. The museum of nearly 450 classic historical cars
in Alsace
fills a former textile warehouse with row upon row of gleaming examples
of automotive history, mostly entirely European makes, especially a
wonderland for fans of Bugatti, with its huge array of the marque from
nearby Molsheim
(see Molsheim Bugatti), with Rolls-Royce, Hispano-Suiza, Maserati,
Ferrari for good measure. The exhibition space in the former factory
with hundreds
of cars has been recently upgraded to a modern interactive museum display,
with even a car train to carry visitors around the sprawling space.
The cars are displayed by era in the main hall, covering automotive
history from 1878 to the present day, with additional halls for motor
racing
cars from sports and Formula 1 through the years, and a special Hall
of Masterpieces, featuring the museums grandest and rarest examples
of the collection from the glorious design age of luxury cars from
the 1930s,
especially the famous sleek gleaming lines of the Bugatti Royale Coupe
Napoleon, the personal car of Ettore Bugatti. In the racing hall the
collection of race machines are lined in rows as if on the Grand Prix
starting grid, with accompanying race start motor sounds. A special
exhibit is set aside to see the new Bugatti Veyron, one of the world’s
most expensive luxury cars, with the modern Bugatti brand now owned
by Volkswagen (see Volkswagen
Autostadt Wolfsburg). To see the historical cars as
they were meant to be – on the move - a new outdoor demonstration
track has been added for the “On Track” live show.
History of Schlumpf Collection
The museum has a rather unique history. The Schlumpf brothers, Hans
and Fritz, were born in Italy, a Swiss father and a mother from Mulhouse
in the Alsace. The family returned to Mulhouse (pronounced Muh-loose)
where they grew up. The elder Hans went to private school in Switzerland
and followed a background in banking, and the younger Fritz worked
in
a textile factory, learning the business. In 1935, the two brothers
went into the textile business together, buying shares in a spinning
mill
and soon adding holdings in various companies. In 1957, the brothers
bought the HKD textile factory in Mulhouse, a former wool mill. Fritz
Schlumpf had a lifelong love of cars; especially the Bugatti and the
success of the business allowed him begin to fulfill his dream. While
their mill spindles were turning in their various holdings, and their
personal wealth building, Fritz began to secretly collect automobiles
through a network of various buyers in France, Italy, Switzerland,
England, Germany and the US and tucking them into a warehouse of the
factory.
Between
1961 and 1963, the collection rapidly swelled, adding hundreds some of
the most beautiful cars ever made. In 1965, the first notice
of the private collection of cars made it into the press in Alsace.
In 1966, Fritz Schlumpf decided to display his cars to the public,
structuring
floor space into the “Schlumpf Museum, with the purchasing, restoration,
and exhibiting this collection costing around 12 million French francs
over 10 years. But then came the 1970s. Labor strife and bad economies
brought the Schlumpf run to a slump. The
factory workers went on strike and the brothers bolted. They tried
to sell their factories for a symbolic
one French franc, but with no takers, left it all behind, and stepped
across the border to Basel, Switzerland, never to return. Unions
took over the collection for a time and called it the “Workers
Museum”, but rather than have the cars sold off, the collection
was designated as a French Historical Monument. A foundation was
formed by the city of Mulhouse, Alsace Bas-Rhin region and private
partners
to acquire car collection and the National Automobile Museum opened
to the public in 1982.
Restaurants
The museum has two restaurants, the L’Atalante with French and
regional cuisine, open for lunch, located the first floor of the Cité de
l'Automobile with large bay windows looking over the exhibition track.
The restaurant is open every day except Mondays with access separate
from the entrance to the museum. The La Piste cafeteria offers buffet
service during the regular museum hours, also offering a view of
the track and separate entry from the museum exhibit. The Cite du
Automobile
is operated by Culturespaces - which also manages the French Cite
Du Train Museum also in Mulhouse.
Visiting Cite du L’Automobile Collection Schlumpf
The
museum is open from 10am to 6pm from April to November, 10am to 5pm,
November to March, except in January and February when opening
at 1pm
weekdays and closed on Christmas Day. Entrance prices are €13.50
standard and €10.50 reduction (seniors students), for the museum
and the “On Track” outdoor show, or €11 and €8.50
for just the museum. The audio guide is included free with entry.
A combined single ticket to also visit the Cite du Train Museum across
town is available.
The Cité de l’Automobile museum is about 5 minutes from
Mulhouse city center by car, and can be reached by city bus. Mulhouse
is 30 minutes from Basel and the EuroAirport, about an hour from
Strasbourg and conveniently a stop on the TGV line (see France
TGV High Speed
Rail) from Paris to Basel. © Bargain
Other historical sites managed by CultureSpaces
Cité du
Train Mulhouse
Chateau
des Baux Provence
Roman
Theater Antique Orange
Waterloo Battle Museum Belgium
Find best hotel and travel deals in Alsace on TripAdvisor
Web Info
Cité d
l'Automobile
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See Also:
AUTOWORLD BELGIUM CINQUANTENAIRE - BRUSSELS
SPEYER
TECHNIK MUSEUM
DONINGTON
PARK GRAND PRIX EXHIBITION
