Opening of the exhibition “From Monaco to Mulhouse. The automobile collection of Prince Albert II »

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From April 13 to November 3, 2024, the Automobile Museum is hosting its new temporary exhibition presenting a selection of cars from the HSH the Prince of Monaco collection.

AMILCAR BUSINESS is pleased to present the exhibition “From Monaco to Mulhouse. The automobile collection of Prince Albert II  ” until November 3, 2024 at the Automobile Museum!

Selection: Rachel Joulia-Helou, editor-in-chief AMILCAR MAGAZINE GROUP.
© Gianelli

Exhibition until November 3, 2024

From April 13 to November 3, 2024, the National Automobile Museum – Schlumpf Collection reveals the intimacy of the princely family in a unique exhibition presenting a selection of cars from the collection of HSH the Prince of Monaco.

© Gianelli

National Automobile Museum – Schlumpf Collection.

Embark on a journey to the heart of the emblematic collection of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco!

© Gianelli

The National Automobile Museum – Collection Schlumpf in Mulhouse has the honor of presenting around twenty cars taken from the collection for the first time as part of an exhibition and chosen to restore its unique character.

Imbued with a very personal mix, the collection is made up of fun, popular, sporty and exceptional cars from all eras. The main European and American manufacturers are represented by cars that are sometimes a memory of princely obligations, sometimes family memories, or simple favorites.

© Gianelli

The collection evokes more than a century of history of the princely family in the light of its passion for automobiles. Loved and keen on beautiful cars, Prince Rainier III built up, over more than forty years, a considerable private collection of old vehicles, enriched by his son Prince Albert II.

The story of a passion passed down from generation to generation.

It is the story of a passion passed down from generation to generation. Loving and keen on beautiful cars, Prince Rainier III built up, for more than forty years, a considerable private collection of old vehicles, enriched by his son Prince Albert II, some models of which will be presented for the first time at the National Museum of Automobile – Schlumpf Collection in Mulhouse. The collection of HSH the Prince of Monaco is built around favorites and memories of the dynasty and family life.

© Gianelli

The exhibition evokes more than a century of history of the princely family in the light of its passion for automobiles by presenting around twenty cars, including one of the first cars used by HSH Prince Albert II, a Lotus Seven IV of 1971. The visitor will be able to discover Albert I’s first Humber Motorcycle, with which he toured France between 1903 and 1905, or a rally car, a nod to the MonteCarlo events and a Formula 1 echoing the Grands Prix. Then, the subject of the exhibition will return to Monaco, the mecca of motor racing, which still makes it famous today. Large format photographs and videos will punctuate the route.

The princely family aboard a pink Fiat Ghia, 1959
© Georges Lukomski – Monaco Palace Archives – IAM

“It is above all  a family affair, a passion that my father, Prince Rainier III, had, which he passed on to my sisters and myself.  He collected them with fervor and took great care of them then he created, in 1993, a museum, “The Collection of Cars of HSH the Prince” so that the public could come in large numbers to admire them.  For my part, my passion goes back to childhood, my sisters and I rode in cars that were very different from each other but they were always astonishing and beautiful.  All these cars made me dream. For example, we could get into a 1956 “Chrysler Imperial” in the morning to go to an official event, then in the afternoon move into a 1959 “Renault Florida” driven by my mother, Princess Grace, to go at the beach for example. »,  Prince Albert II, 2024.

HSH Prince Albert II’s collection is imbued with a very personal mix. Fun, popular, sporty and exceptional cars from all eras rub shoulders without hierarchy. The main European and American manufacturers are represented by cars that are sometimes a memory of princely obligations, sometimes family memories, or simple favorites.

“The Princes of Monaco have always been passionate about the automobile world […] Together [with his father, Prince Rainier, Editor’s note], we have developed a private collection of vintage cars. This collection is particularly close to my heart and I would like to enrich it by acquiring new models,” explains HSH Prince Albert II about the Collection in 2017.

The exhibition at the National Automobile Museum – Collection Schlumpf in Mulhouse has the honor of presenting around twenty taken from the collection for the first time as part of an exhibition and chosen to restore the unique character of this collection .

  • March 14, 1958: Birth of Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Grimaldi, in Monaco, son of Prince Rainier III (1923-2005) and Grace Kelly (1929-1982)
  • 1985: Albert II participates in the 7th edition of the Paris-Dakar
  • 1988-2002: Albert II competes in the Winter Olympic Games for 5 consecutive years as a Monaco bobsleigh pilot.
  • April 6, 2005: Albert II becomes the fourteenth sovereign prince, he is then called HSH the Prince of Monaco
  • July 1, 2011: Wedding of HSH the Prince of Monaco to Charlène Wittstock

Word from the commissioner

Richard Keller – Honorary Chief Curator of Heritage

In 1965, two personalities close to the Prince of Monaco responded to the invitation of the Schlumpf brothers. Louis Chiron, automobile champion, and Gabriel Ollivier, general commissioner for tourism of Monaco, sign the guestbook of the “Schlumpf museum” which constitutes the first stone of the future museum. Access is only reserved for exclusive guests such as Prince Napoleon, the Prince of Sweden, Prince Metternich, the Marquis de Villapaderna.… The “Schlumpf Museum” is still only a warehouse 30 km from Mulhouse, but what a warehouse! More than 500 cars are piled up there, handpicked in a methodical manner thanks to an international network of contacts feeding their acquisition program. At the same time, Prince Rainier III had collected around ten cars older than his year of birth. He only presented his collection to the public in 1993 when the Schlumpf brothers were hard at work preparing a sumptuous display in one of their factories in Mulhouse. At the beginning of the 1970s, everything was almost ready. A desire for social revenge in the industrial environment of Mulhouse even pushes them to give their museum a coat of arms including their family coat of arms. Their industrial setbacks caused by the textile crisis nevertheless condemned them to flee to Switzerland in 1977 without being able to open their museum to the general public. These are two very personal ways of bringing a collection to life, but with some common points. The passion of the “oldies” pushes them to show themselves with pride at the wheel. However, at that time, the view of his new genre of collectors was rather reserved. It was different from the 1980s when investors participated in auctions. Since that time, the “old” car has become “collectible”, considered inaccessible for a large number of enthusiasts and respectable for a growing crowd of observers.

Copyright:

  • © Gianelli
  • © Georges Lukomski – Monaco Palace Archives – IAM
  • © Monaco Palace Archives – IAM

Exhibition partners

Le Musée National de l’Automobile 

“Le Musée National de l’Automobile” located in Mulhouse holds the largest  automobile collection  in the world, bringing together more than 450 exceptional cars.

Website: https://www.musee-automobile.fr/

  • National Automobile Museum – Schlumpf Collection
  • 17 rue de la Mertzau 68100 Mulhouse (visitor entrance)
  • 192 avenue de Colmar, BP 1096, 68051 Mulhouse cedex (postal and administrative address)
  • 03 89 33 23 21 – info@museedelauto.org

Information: https://www.musee-automobile.fr/de-monaco-a-mulhouse/

Ticket office: https://museedelauto.tickeasy.com/fr-FR/accueil

Access :

  • By car: A35 and A36 motorways, “Mulhouse-Centre” exit Visitor parking: 17 rue de la Mertzau 68100 Mulhouse > By tram: line 1, “Musée de l’Auto” stop
  • By train: Mulhouse-Ville station (by TGV 2 hours 40 minutes from Paris-Lyon) then tram line 1
  • By plane: Basel-Mulhouse airport 20 minutes away

Hours
Open every day of the year except December 25

  • From January 8 to February 9, 2024: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
  • From February 10 to April 5, 2024: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • From April 6 to December 3, 2024 (closed on the 25th): 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • From November 4 to December 31, 2024: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Prices

  • Full price: €18
  • Reduced rate (students, job seekers, Education pass, disability card): €14
  • Youth rate (4 to 17 years old): €11
  • Family rate (2 adults and 2 children aged 4 to 17): €50
  • Museums-Pass-Museums: €123 / Reduced €113

Reservations : www.musee-automobile.fr

Selection: Rachel Joulia-Helou, editor-in-chief AMILCAR MAGAZINE GROUP.

AMILCAR MAGAZINE  GROUP 

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Publishers:

  • Rachel Joulia-Helou, editor-in-chief of AMILCAR MAGAZINE GROUP.
  • Alexandre Joulia, photographer and deputy editor of AMILCAR MAGAZINE GROUP.

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