Background to the Schlumpf collection

Birth of the collection

Hans and Fritz Schlumpf were born in Italy. Their mother Jeanne, however, came from Mulhouse which was where, once widowed, she decided to raise her sons. The two brothers were uncommonly devoted to their mother.
In 1940, at the age of 34, Fritz was the chairman of a spinning mill in Malmerspach. In 1935 the Schlumpf brothers founded a limited liability company for the wool industry, and their fortunes grew. Fritz collected cars and, from 1964 on, housed them in his Mulhouse spinning mill… the future museum.
 
Fritz Schlumpf was driven by an abiding love for beautiful automotive engineering, and he bought the most desirable models. Over the years nearly 400 items (vehicles, chassis and engines) were quietly grouped at the Mulhouse factory. The crew hired to restore them was bound by an oath of secrecy, and a wing of the former spinning mill was luxuriously refurbished. 
  

By the 1970s, the textile industry was in decline. In 1976 the Schlumpf brothers sold their factories. In October of that year the Malmerspach plant had to lay off employees, and a strike broke out. The Schlumpfs fled to Switzerland. 
 
In Mulhouse in March 1977 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. 
 

Museum's opening

After many ups and downs, the museum opened to the public in 1982 under the aegis of its association.

The National Automobile Museum Association of Mulhouse, composed of local public authorities and private partners, bought the collections, land and buildings. Management of the museum was placed in the hands of the National Automobile Museum of Mulhouse Management Association.

In 1999 this association asked Culturespaces to modernise the museum and its operations.

Year 2000 renovation

To bring the National Automobile Museum of Mulhouse into the 21st century, Culturespaces renovated the museum from top to bottom while conserving the well-known main hall with its Pont Alexandre III lamp posts.

The collection

The collection is displayed in three main sections:
- The Motorcar Experience,
- Motor Racing,
- Motorcar Masterpieces
The cars are presented in chronological order. At the entrance, visitors are given free of charge an audioguide. The tour has been enhanced by new sections, films, driving simulators, robots and attractions such as sound programmes.
 
Rather than being a museum aimed only at vintage car enthusiasts, it has been transformed, by Culturespaces, into a lively and exciting place for both collectors and the general public alike.