Autoworld (museum)

Autoworld is a museum of vintage cars in Brussels, Belgium. It is located in the South Hall of the Parc du Cinquantenaire/Jubelpark, and displays a large and varied collection of over 250 European and American automobiles from the late 19th century to the 1990s. It is notable for its collections of early and Belgian-produced vehicles, including Minervas and several limousines belonging to the Belgian royal family.

Autoworld
View of the South Hall of the Cinquantenaire complex, housing Autoworld
Interactive fullscreen map
LocationParc du Cinquantenaire / Jubelpark 11,
B-1000 City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium
Coordinates50°50′26″N 4°23′34″E
TypeAutomobile museum
Public transit accessMetro: Schuman and Merode (lines 1 and 5)
Nearest car parkMuseum grounds
WebsiteOfficial website

History

The core of the museum was formed by the collections of two collectors: Charly De Pauw and Ghislain Mahy. Mahy bought his first car, a Ford T, in 1944. This turned out to be the start of a collection that grew into about a thousand vehicles, amongst which many Belgian brands such as Minervas, Germain, FN, Imperia, Fondu, Vivinus, Nagant, Belga-Rise and Miesse.[1]

Interior of the museum before refurbishment

For half a century, the collection took shape in the former Wintercircus in Ghent. In 1986, a selection of 230 cars was transferred to Brussels, where they are housed in the South Hall of the Cinquantenaire complex, also called Palais Mondial. The remaining 750 cars are located in Mahymobiles, an automobile museum located in Leuze-en-Hainaut, Belgium.[1]

Collections

The museum exhibits cars from the end of the 19th century up to the 1990s. These include Minervas, a 1928 Bentley, a 1930 Bugatti and a 1930 Cord, and several limousines belonging to the Belgian royal family. In addition to passenger cars, motorcycles, sports cars, fire engines and carriages from the 19th century are also on display.[1]

Events

Vehicle orientated events, such as anniversary celebrations of different car marques and automotive industry events such the AutoSens conference.[2]

See also

References

Notes
  1. "Museum history | Autoworld". www.autoworld.be. Retrieved 5 June 2022.
  2. "Autoworld Brussels". www.autoworld.be.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Autoworld.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.