Mercedes-Benz Museum (Stuttgart, Germany): description, history and interesting facts

There are not so many world's legendary car brands, each of them is worthy of a separate history and attention. Car enthusiasts visiting Germany will not miss the opportunity to visit the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. The exposition tracks the 120-year history of the brand, presenting 1500 cars in the historical sequence of release.

History of the brand

The Mercedes-Benz trademark was born from the merger of two companies engaged in the production of cars in Germany. One of them - Benz & Cie - was founded in 1883 by Carl Benz, and the second was named Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft and was opened in 1890 by Gottlieb Daimler. Until 1926, these were competing organizations, which gave the world many unique cars and discoveries in this field. A single concern was formed in 1926.

The creation of the union was caused by the economic situation in Germany that developed after the First World War. Efforts of the two shattered giants were started development, which became a classic of the automotive industry. The design bureau of the group was headed by Ferdinand Porsche. He went into his own business in 1928.

During World War II, the company reoriented to produce trucks and cars for the needs of the army. Production did deliveries until September 1944, when the air raid completely destroyed the factories. In 1945, the board of directors legally recognized that the Daimler-Benz concern had lost all physical assets.

The restoration of the potential took place slowly, which did not damage the ambitious plans. In 1951, the company demonstrated at the Paris exhibition a luxury hand-built car, which took into account all the technical innovations. The machine was a huge success, one of them was acquired by German Chancellor Friedrich Adenauer, and later the model was called "Adenauer." From that moment the concern began to restore leadership positions in the automotive market.

The first museum

To comprehend its own history and demonstrate it to the world decided in the year of celebrating the 50th anniversary of the concern. The first exhibition was opened in 1936 in a separate building on the territory of the plant. The exhibition halls were small, the whole collection consisted of 33 cars. Eighteen were produced by Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, nine models were produced at different times by Benz & Cie, and six samples represented the product of the joint creativity of the merged productions.

The exposition was complemented by nineteen engines designed for various models of cars, aircraft and sea vessels. Of interest were three engines for railway locomotives, precise replicas of a unique engine for the first coach of the brand Daimler Motorkutsche and the motor boat Neckar. The first museum of Mercedes-Benz existed until 1958.

Expansion

By 1955, the museum "Mercedes" in Stuttgart had an extensive collection, which could no longer contain the halls of the old museum. The company's management appealed to the architects R. Gutbir and H. Kammer to develop a new building project. Construction was started in 1958, and the opening took place on the 75th anniversary of the invention of the first car, in 1961.

A significantly expanded exposition stretched over an area of 1,200 square meters, accompanied by excursionists was carried out with the help of a technical novelty - audio guide. The museum attracted many tourists, but the replenishing collection required ever larger areas. In 1985 the museum Mercedes-Benz was closed to visitors. The management of the concern decided to carry out a cardinal reconstruction and expansion of the exhibition area for the centennial anniversary.

The new concept of internal and external design was entrusted to architects K. Lorera, D. Hermann and G. Merz. The building received a modern finish, consonant with the mission of the brand. The area of the exhibition halls was increased and amounted to about 6 thousand square meters. A continuous glass facade filled the interior space with the sun and blurred the line between the industrial landscape of plant areas and museum halls.

New building for the collection

The question of space limitations for a long time was the weakest side and required a cardinal solution. In 2000, the museum "Mercedes" in Stuttgart was decided to place in a completely new building, on the edge of the factory territories. Somewhat later, the idea was continued in the construction of a separate complex of buildings, where several areas of the company's interests will unite.

The project was approved in 2001, its implementation was entrusted to the famous architect B. Berkel. The first stone in a solemn atmosphere was laid in 2003, and three years later it was opened for visitors. When developing the internal space, all the nuances and requirements of the museum business were taken into account.

In 2015, the Mercedes-Benz Museum made an unprecedented gift for motorists, staging a sale of several retro models of its collection. The action was called All Time Stars and divided the offer into three parts - premium class, collection cars and driver's series.

Architecture

The Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart is located in the building of a futuristic direction of architecture. To visit it was opened in 2006. For the construction was occupied only 4800 square meters. Meters, and the exhibition area occupy 16.5 thousand square meters. Created from glass and concrete, it seems to be three-story, but, having got inside, the visitor passes nine floors, where the entire history of the brand is told. The basis of the concept is the form of a shamrock, consisting of three equidistant circles. As a result of their intersection, an inner triangular atrium is formed, its shape can be interpreted as a hint of the company logo or as an engine shape.

The administration and architects approached the creation of the third museum with all seriousness and united in the concept three times of existence of the trade mark: relying on the past, creating in the present and creating the future. The inner space is constructed on the principle of a spiral of human DNA, carrying in a compressed form the entire human genome.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum (Stuttgart) is one of the most visited industrial and automobile museums in the world. Every year, tourists from 160 countries come here, the total number of visitors is about 7 million people.

Exposition

The Mercedes-Benz Museum offers visitors two types of itinerary on display. One of them conducts an excursion on the stages of the 125-year history of the company. The stands present a retrospective of cars from the very first models to modern masterpieces of the automobile industry. The exhibition halls are decorated in the style of those epochs to which this or that model belongs. Music, posters, movie heroes create the atmosphere of their time, immersing the visitor in it.

The second route has a conceptual focus and reflects the development of the brand by types of equipment produced. This exposition is located in five halls - cargo, service machinery, travel, cars of famous persons and heroes of movies. Each of the routes is accompanied by an audio guide, which provides information in any order in many languages, including Russian.

On the top floor of the museum complex, both routes lead to the hall, where modern technology is collected, which is currently being implemented around the world. Also, here are presented innovative models, which, perhaps, will be released in the near future. The museum collection consists of 1500 exhibits. On the stands are placed not only cars, but also the first engine designs, mock-ups. The range of vehicles produced by the company is wide: buses, trucks, sports and racing cars, serial cars of various classes.

Reviews

All visitors liked the museum Mercedes-Benz (Stuttgart). Reviews tell us that even a person who is not a car enthusiast is guaranteed an exciting journey into the history of one brand. All visitors note the scale of the exposition, the spectacular presentation of each model of the car. Full information helps to get audio guide in Russian. A special delight for many visitors was caused by the simulator of the race track.

There are no negative reviews about the museum. Some visitors complained about the fact that the exhibits can not be touched. Not all approached audio guide, which provides only dry information, many wanted a lively dialogue with the guide, a traditional for Russian museums.

The Mercedes Museum in Stuttgart: address and prices

The city of Stuttgart is a German shopping center, so there are many of our compatriots there. Almost all of them advise to visit the museum of Mercedes-Benz. All roads in the city lead to the auto giant.

Helpful information:

• Address: Mercedesstraße, 100.
• Prices - 8 euros from 9:00 to 16:30, 4 euros from 16:30 to 18:00, the ticket office is open until 17:00.
• Directions - From the central station, take the subway line S1 to Neckarpark station, then follow the directions.