The Mercedes-Benz Museum is an
automobile museum
An automotive museum is a museum that explores the history of automotive-related transportation.
* Bold – Automotive museums owned by automotive manufacturers
* ''Italics'' – no longer open to public access, excludes private or invitation on ...
in
Stuttgart
Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...
, Germany. It covers the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand and the brands associated with it. Stuttgart is home to the
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
brand and the international headquarters of the
Mercedes-Benz Group
The Mercedes-Benz Group AG (previously named Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler and Daimler) is a German multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of the world's leading car manufacture ...
.
The museum building
The current building, which stands directly outside the main gate of the Daimler factory in Stuttgart, was designed by
UN Studio
UNStudio (formerly Van Berkel en Bos Architectenbureau) is a Dutch architectural practice specializing in architecture, urban development and "infrastructural" projects. The practice was founded in 1988 by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos. The ini ...
. It is based on a unique cloverleaf concept using three overlapping circles with the center removed to form a triangular atrium recalling the shape of a
Wankel engine
The Wankel engine (, ) is a type of internal combustion engine using an Eccentric (mechanism), eccentric rotary combustion engine, rotary design to convert pressure into rotating motion. It was invented by German engineer Felix Wankel, and desi ...
. The building was completed and opened on 19 May 2006. Architecture and exhibition concept are closely interwoven, as exhibition designer
HG Merz
Hans Günter Merz, better known as HG Merz (born 1947 in Tailfingen) is a German architect and museum designer. He is the founder and director of ''hg merz architekten museumsgestalter'', an architecture office that specializes in museum and exhib ...
had already been commissioned before the architecture competition in 2001.
The building's height and "double helix" interior were designed to maximise space, providing of exhibition space on a footprint of just . The double helix also corresponds to the exhibition concept, which divides the museum into the "legend rooms" and the "collections", offering two alternative tours that can be merged at any given point of the museum.
The museum contains more than 160 vehicles, some dating back to the very earliest days of the motorcar engine. The vehicles are maintained by the
Mercedes-Benz Classic Center
The Mercedes-Benz Classic Center is part of Mercedes-Benz for restoring and preserving old Mercedes models. It was first opened on May 18, 1993, in Fellbach, Germany, outside Stuttgart. A second location was opened in June 2006 in Irvine, Califo ...
of
Fellbach
Fellbach () is a mid-sized town on the north-east edge of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of approximately 45.430 is the second largest town in the District Rems-Murr-Kreis. The area of the town is .
Fellbach was fir ...
. Previously, the museum was housed in a dedicated building within the factory complex and visitors had in recent decades been transported from the main gate by a secured shuttle.
Other details
The museum provides visitors with free audio tours in a variety of languages. In 2007, the museum was visited by 860,000 people.
Visitors are also offered the opportunity to take a tour of the nearby Untertürkheim engine factory. The factory produces many of the company's diesel engines.
Gallery
File:MB Museum Stuttgart 2.jpg, A McLaren SLR near the museum shop, 2008
File:MB Museum Stuttgart 1.jpg, Staircase along a gallery
File:Mercedes-Benz Formel-Rennwagen W25 (51559196205).jpg, Mercedes-Benz Formel-Rennwagen W25
File:Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart (15364082140).jpg, Side view
File:Mercedes Benz Museum (17257783019).jpg,
File:20191018 Mercedes museum 1.jpg,
See also
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Automuseum Dr. Carl Benz
The Automuseum Dr. Carl Benz is a privately owned automobile museum in Ladenburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Established in 1984, it focuses on the career of the automotive pioneer Carl Benz (also known as Karl Benz), and on the history of the a ...
*
List of automobile museums
An automotive museum is a museum that explores the history of automotive-related transportation.
* Bold – Automotive museums owned by automotive manufacturers
* ''Italics'' – no longer open to public access, excludes private or invitation on ...
*
Mercedes-Benz World
Mercedes-Benz World is a facility open to the public at the historic Brooklands motor racing circuit in Weybridge, Surrey, UK. It is owned and operated by the Mercedes-Benz Group and opened in . Since then over 3 million people have visited.
...
*
Museum for Historical Maybach Vehicles
The Museum for Historical Maybach Vehicles (german: Museum für historische Maybach-Fahrzeuge) is a privately owned automobile museum in Neumarkt in der Oberpfalz, Bavaria, Germany. Opened in 2009, it is the first and only museum in the world to ...
Further reading
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References
External links
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Mercedes-Benz
Museums in Stuttgart
Tourist attractions in Stuttgart
Automobile museums in Germany
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