Opened in July 2023, the Nationales Auto Museum – The Loh Collection is located in central Germany, in the town of Dietzhölztal-Ewersbach, about 150 km from Frankfurt and Cologne. A successful entrepreneur, Friedhelm Loh developed the family industrial group into a holding company with 90 subsidiaries worldwide employing more than 12,500 people. Passionate about cars, he has built up an eclectic collection of models, old, recent, touring and racing.
The museum is housed in a former foundry that has been rehabilitated and modernized in an architectural project that mixes old buildings that have preserved many historical markers with modern buildings.
Cars
The Loh Collection exhibited at the Nationales Auto Museum presents 130 cars from around fifty manufacturers in the permanent exhibition, covering 135 years of automotive history, with many rare or even unique models. It is therefore difficult to choose the most significant examples from this remarkable collection, but let’s mention a few gems.
The oldest car is an 1895 Benz Victoria, in its original condition, and of which the museum is only the 3rd owner. Also in its original condition is a Lohner fire truck from 1906, initially all-electric based on a development by Ferdinand Porsche, and later converted into a hybrid model. The 1931 Bucciali TAV 12 is one of the only 6 cars built by this French manufacturer, and equipped with a spectacular, very long and very low body. The Bucciali is a front-wheel drive, equipped with a V12 engine from Voisin. Another French car, the Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Coupé dates from 1948, only 2 units built with this low-roof body by Saoutchik. A modern counterpart to these classic cars, the 2005 Maybach Exelero is a unique concept developed for the Fulda tyre brand. With a 5.9L twin-turbo V12, this car exceeded 350 km/h on the Nardo circuit, quite impressive for a car weighing 2.7 tons!
The Loh Collection also includes sports cars with good racing pedigree, such as this Ferrari 250 S Vignale, winner of the 1952 Mille Miglia, which also set the lap record at the 24 Hours of Le Mans the same year, the 1955 Mercedes 300 SL, being the 1st “Gullwing” with aluminium bodywork, the Ferrari 412 P which raced at Le Mans in 1966 and 1967, and finished 3rd at Daytona in 1967, the Ferrari F1-2000, one of the 4 cars driven by Michael Schumacher during his 1st World Championship season with Ferrari, this chassis being winner of the Canadian GP, or the Audi R8 of 2004, the only Audi to have won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and which is not in the Audi collection.
In the building where the huge industrial boilers were produced, there is now a large, steep curve, inspired by a circuit banking, where you can find sports cars from several eras. Behind this curved section, an automatic parking-garage system presents more than 30 vehicles in a multi-storey display.
Besides cars
Elements of historic industrial buildings make up part of the museum’s décor. To guide the visitor, the Nationales Automuseum – the Loh Collection offers an app for smartphones (Android and IOS) that includes technical information, photos, anecdotes and videos of the vehicles on display. The museum has 2 restaurants of different styles, open all day, including for dinner. The outdoor café Avus is also open for a drink or snack on the terrace when weather permits.
The Art Deco-style “Capitol” cinema, which has about fifty seats, is integrated into the historic industrial building. Several meeting spaces are also available to host events of all sizes, up to 500 people. The museum shop offers a wide selection of souvenirs, including several objects exclusive to the museum, such as scale model cars on display, T-shirts or mugs with the effigy of the most famous cars in the Collection.
More original, the Nationales Auto Museum – the Loh Collection has teamed up with the University of Nürtingen-Geislingen to create an engineering course dedicated to the classic automobile. A historical workshop, which is free of charge, retraces the industrial activity of the region and the site.
Outside, there is a large car park with 120 spaces for cars, plus spaces for vans and campers, as well as for buses.
Practical information
Opening
Museum and shop
| Wednesday to Friday | 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. |
| Saturday and Sunday | 10:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m |
| Monday and Tuesday | closed |
Restaurants
| Wednesday to Friday (Breakfast: 10:00 – 12:00 a.m.) | 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. |
| Saturday and Sunday (Breakfast: 9:00 – 11:30 a.m.) | 9:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m |
| Monday and Tuesday | closed |
The permanent exhibition will reopen on 23 March 2024, with a news special exhibition dedicated to Ferrari.
History workshop, restaurant and shop are open all year round.
During the winter break, guided tours or events in the permanent exhibition are possible on request at at info@nationalesautomuseum.de
Rates
Permanent exhibition
| Adults | 19,00 € |
| Youth (6-14 years), Students and disabled | 15,00 € |
| Children (under 6 years old) | Free |
| Families – 2 adults and up to 3 children (6 – 14 years) | 50,00 € |
| Free parking |
Special exhibition
| Adults | 9,50 € |
| Youth (6-14 years), Students and disabled | 7,00 € |
| Children (under 6 years old) | Free |
| Families – 2 adults and up to 3 children (6 – 14 years) | 50,00 € |
| Free parking |
Combined ticket
| Adults | 26,00 € |
| Youth (6-14 years), Students and disabled | 19,00 € |
| Children (under 6 years old) | Free |
| Families – 2 adults and up to 3 children (6 – 14 years) | 65,00 € |
| Free parking |
The photos on this page belong to the National Automuseum – The Loh Collection, no use or reproduction is allowed without written permission from the owner.
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