Hans Schlumpf (collector)

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Giovanni "Hans" Carlo Viterio Schlumpf (born February 21, 1904 in Omegna near Milan , † 1989 in Basel ) was a Swiss textile manufacturer and automobile collector from Mulhouse in Alsace .

Schlumpf was the son of the textile engineer Carl Schlumpf and his wife Jeanne Becker. The textile manufacturer Fritz Schlumpf was his brother. In 1908 the family moved to Mühlhausen, Alsace. Schlumpf lived there until the brothers fled into exile in Switzerland in 1977.

Automobile collection

Between 1945 and 1977, the brothers Fritz and Hans Schlumpf assembled a huge collection of classic automobiles, including 87 Bugatti vehicles . To finance this hobby, they put such a strain on their company that it became insolvent in 1977, and as a result more than 2000 employees had to be made unemployed. The automobile collection, which was previously unknown to the public, was discovered by the former workers of the textile factory during riots during a strike.

With the proceeds from the sale of the vehicles, the claims of the creditors could have been met, but the collection could be preserved in its entirety - mainly through the intervention of the French government.

The former workshops of the textile factory with an area of ​​over 25,000 m², 17,000 m² of which in a large hall, now house the Cité de l'Automobile - Collection Schlumpf National Museum . With over 500 mostly very old and exquisite classic cars, it is not only the largest collection of classic cars in France, but also one of the most important in the world.

The endeavors and work of the Schlumpf brothers can be assessed as contradicting one another: completely disregarding their economic and social responsibility, both towards themselves and towards their employees, they left one of the largest and most fascinating automobile museums in the world for posterity.

literature

  • Wolfgang Drehsen, Werner Haas, Hans-Jürgen Schneider: The automobiles of the Schlumpf brothers. A documentation . Edited by Halwart Schrader. 2. through Edition. Munich: Schrader, 1979, 182 pages, ISBN 3-405-11775-5 (The collection includes, among others, Alfa Romeo, Audi, Bentley, Benz, Bugatti (a lot), Citroën, Delahaye, Ferrari, Fiat, Horch, Lancia, Lotus , MAF, Maserati, Maurer Union, Maybach, Mercedes, Porsche, Rolls-Royce, Steyr, Sunbeam, Talbot, Tatra and many more)

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