Cars, motorcycles, engines, bicycles - not a complete list of products of the world-famous company BMW, whose homeland is Germany. The idea to create the museum was matured for a long time, and when it was realized, both tourists and locals were delighted. The building itself deserves attention and houses the history of the brand, product samples, rare and one-of-a-kind items, and innovative developments. If the purpose of the trip is to get acquainted with the country and fully understand its atmosphere, a visit to the BMW Museum is a must, because it is difficult to imagine Germany without the automobile industry, which played almost a key role in the history of its development. development.
What do you know about the BMW brand?
The company was registered in 1916 as a manufacturer of aircraft engines. The creator was Karl Friedrich Rapp. This specificity was not chosen by chance: the office was located next to a German aircraft building company. A year after its founding - in 1917 - the company began to grow rapidly, and in 1919, after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, which banned the production of aircraft in Germany, began to explore the automotive markets. In 1929, an emblem was designed, which became a true symbol of auto industry - a white-blue circle with an abbreviation. The creators claim that they were inspired by the Bavarian flag - hence the blue and white colors.
The creation of the museum of the same name and the architecture of the building.
The idea of creating a museum emerged a long time ago, but the 1972 Olympics became the impetus for action. In a short time the building was built, the architect was Karl Schwanzer:
- The structure is in the form of a bowl, with the BMW acronym on top, which can only be seen from the air.
- The concept: The building is a gas tank lid.
- The museum is a three-level spiral structure, which can be accessed through the adjacent car dealership or by a suspension bridge. Movement on the floors is carried out by lifting an excavator.
The first visitors saw the exhibition in 1972 and since then the BMW Museum has been a must-see for all tourists visiting Munich.
What does the exhibition consist of?
All exhibits of the museum are divided into seven "houses" - exhibition halls:
- Company House
- Designer House
- Motorcycle House
- Technology House
- Series House
- Company House
- Motorsport House.
The design of all the halls was carefully developed; the specialists worked for a long time on the interactive equipment.
Visitors will see unique exhibits: the first cars of the brand, rare cars, motorcycles, aircraft engines, the latest developments in the automotive industry and cars that are not on sale - in short, the whole century.
The area of the museum is five thousand square meters, which is not easy to overcome: you will have to move on inclined planes to the top - peculiar sidewalks. Along the way, there will be walls of motorcycles, corridors of engines, shelves of cars, halls large and small.
Interesting Facts
- In 1919, due to a ban on the production of airplanes, the plant had to produce brakes for trains, household items and agricultural machinery.
- From 1954 to 1974 the employees of the company held the world championship of motorcycle sidecar racing.
- On the top floor of the museum, visitors will find a kinetic model of the BMW - an installation in the form of thousands of small steel balls suspended from the ceiling.
- 850,000 people visit the exhibition every year.
- There are cafes, restaurants, and spare parts stores in the museum building.
