It all started with the birth of the Schlumpf brothers, back in 1904/1906 in Italy. Hans & Fritz were the sons of a Swiss father, but their mother was a native of Mulhouse. Hans became a banker, Fritz chose the wool industry and was or became a car lover. Before WWII he bought a Bugatti T35B and with pauses, kept on buying up to the early 1970s.

All the cars finally were put together in the HKC mill and Fritz personally managed the conversion of the mill. It became all very exclusive and spectacular, with thick carpets, majestic staircases and an exclusive lightning - the Schlumpfs wanted to impress, and they did, but all of the work on the cars and the buildings was carried out in great secrecy.

By 1976 the textile industry was in decline, the brothers sold their factories and fled to Switzerland. In Mulhouse in March 1977, as part of industrial action, union activists broke into the "museum" and to their astonishment discovered the collection. Renamed the "Workers’ Factory", the place was occupied for the next two years. Under threat of sale to cover the corporation’s debts, the car collection was classified a French historic monument in 1978 by the Council of State. It was later sold in 1981 to the National Automobile Museum Association, ending as the largest Automobile Museum in the world.

The collection consists over 400 cars: Bugatti, Gordini, Ferrari, Peugeot, Rolls, Mercedes and some very rare marques; many of the cars are unique. They are exhibited in 17,000 square meters. Add some history and you can entertain yourself the whole day when you take a visit….

Click here to go to the museum's website.

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