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Mulhouse is a city in the Haut-Rhin that occupies a unique place in the Alsatian landscape. Long under Swiss influence - it was a free confederate city of the Swiss Confederation from 1515 to 1798 before joining France - it developed in the 19th century a textile and chemical industry among the most important in Europe. This exceptional industrial history left it an Art Deco architectural heritage and a network of technical museums of incomparable richness.
Unlike Strasbourg, the administrative and political capital, or Colmar, the tourist and viticultural capital, Mulhouse is above all a city of working-class and industrial culture. Its inhabitants are proud of this singular identity that distinguishes them from the rest of Alsace, and the city has transformed its industrial heritage into a major cultural asset with a series of museums that have no equivalent in France or Europe.
The Cité de l'Automobile is undoubtedly the most spectacular museum in Mulhouse and one of the most remarkable in Europe. It houses the Schlumpf Collection, the largest and most precious collection of vintage cars in the world, with more than 430 vehicles including 123 Bugattis - an absolute world record. This exceptional collection, secretly assembled by brothers Hans and Fritz Schlumpf, Alsatian textile industry industrialists, was discovered by the workers of their factories during a strike in 1976 and seized by the French state.
A visit to the Cité de l'Automobile is an extraordinary experience. The cars are presented under spectacular lighting that showcases their mechanical and aesthetic beauty. The Bugatti Type 41 Royale, of which only six examples were ever produced, constitute the highlight of the collection. Legendary racing cars, unique prototypes and haute couture automotive bodywork complete a visit that easily lasts three to four hours.
The Cité du Train is France's largest railway museum and one of the most important in Europe. It brings together more than 50 locomotives and 35 passenger carriages covering 150 years of French railway history, from the first steam locomotives of the 19th century to the TGV trains of the 1980s. Installed in the former SNCF maintenance workshop in Mulhouse, the Cité du Train occupies an industrial hall of 4 hectares of impressive architectural beauty.
The highlights of the collection include the 231 G 558 steam locomotive, nicknamed "Pacific", which pulled the great express trains of the inter-war period, Napoleon III's salon carriage and several electric locomotives from the 1930s of remarkable formal elegance. Thematic exhibitions trace the social history of the French railway, from the great strikes of 1936 to the adventure of the TGV.
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Electropolis is the museum of electrical energy, housed in the former buildings of the Société Industrielle de Mulhouse. It traces the history of electricity and its industrial applications from Volta and Ampère's first experiments to contemporary nuclear power stations. Its collection of alternators, turbines and transformers from the early 20th century is of inestimable historical and technical value.
The Wallpaper Museum, installed at Rixheim on the outskirts of Mulhouse, is the only museum in the world entirely dedicated to wallpaper. It houses more than 200,000 references covering five centuries of wallpaper production. The Museum of Printed Fabrics, located in Mulhouse's historic heart, traces the history of the Mulhouse textile industry that made the city's fortune in the 19th century.
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Mulhouse's historic centre is often a surprise for visitors who were not expecting it. The Place de la Réunion, at the heart of the old town, is surrounded by a remarkable architectural ensemble dominated by the Temple Saint-Étienne and the Renaissance Town Hall. The Temple Saint-Étienne, a former Catholic collegiate church converted into a Protestant church after the Reformation, houses a series of 14th-century Gothic stained glass windows of rare quality, recently restored.
Mulhouse's Town Hall, built in 1552 in the Alsatian Renaissance style, is adorned with a trompe-l'oeil painted facade that distinguishes it from all other civic buildings in Alsace. These frescoes, depicting false architectures and allegorical figures, were created by a Basel artist and constitute a unique testimony to Renaissance art in the region.
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The Nouvelle Douane is Mulhouse's cultural centre, housed in a converted industrial building on the canal. It hosts temporary contemporary art exhibitions, concerts and cultural events throughout the year. Mulhouse Zoo, one of the oldest in France (founded 1868), is a 25-hectare zoological park housing more than 1,100 animals representing 180 species, with particular emphasis on endangered species and breeding programmes.
Mulhouse is a city to discover over two to three days to fully enjoy its museums. The technical museums - Cité de l'Automobile, Cité du Train, Electropolis - are grouped in the northern district of the city, about 2 kilometres from the historic centre, and easily accessible by tram from the central station. A combined ticket allows several museums to be visited at reduced rates.
Mulhouse is accessible from Strasbourg in 45 minutes by TGV, from Colmar in 20 minutes and from Basel in 20 minutes. The central station is 10 minutes walk from the historic centre.
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