Deutsches Zweirad- und NSU-Museum

Last updated

Deutsches Zweirad- und NSU-Museum ZweiRad Museum NSU.jpg
Deutsches Zweirad- und NSU-Museum
Baden-Wuerttemberg location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Deutsches Zweirad- und NSU-Museum
Deutsches Zweirad- und NSU-Museum, Neckarsulm, Baden-Württemberg
Motor racing exhibit ZweiRadMuseumNSU RennsportAbteilung.jpg
Motor racing exhibit
Replica of the Easy Rider Harley Chopper, in front of move scene Harley Neckarsulm 01.jpg
Replica of the Easy Rider Harley Chopper, in front of move scene

The Deutsches Zweirad- und NSU-Museum in Neckarsulm, Germany has a collection of historic motorcycles and bicycles in a five-story split-level building dating to 13th Century. Motorcycles representing 50 manufacturers are displayed, including a reproduction of the 1885 Daimler Einspur, the first gasoline, internal combustion motorcycle, and an 1894 Hildebrand & Wolfmüller, the first production motorcycle. There is also an exhibit of NSU Motorenwerke AG vehicles. [1]

Contents

History

Neckarsulm and NSU were formerly often interchangeable terms. The two-wheeler was not invented in Neckarsulm, but NSU was one of the first companies in the world to produce bicycles starting in 1886, and starting in 1901, motorcycles. So the idea was to build a motorcycle museum in Neckarsulm, Germany. One important reason was the two-wheeled crisis in the mid-1950s. For later generations, it was said at the time, dying two-wheeled technology should be documented and handed down. With the support of FA NSU and the Deutsches Museum in Munich, especially its head of department Dipl. Eng Max Rauck, the Deutsches Zweirad-Museum was established on initiative of former Mayor Dr. Hans Hoffmann in the Deutschordensschloss, a former castle of the Teutonic Knights. It was inaugurated on Saturday, 19 May 1956, in the presence of domestic and foreign guests. The exhibition comprised at that time about 70 exhibits, which were presented on 600 m². In 1971, it was the first exhibition on the subject of world record vehicles. In the years from 1956 to 1977, the museum received around half a million visitors. The exhibition space and the number of exhibits were continuously enlarged. 1981 200 exhibits on 900 m² were shown and in 1984 the area again expanded to 1200 m². in 1986, the NSU department opened, and the museum was given its present name: "Deutsches Zweirad – and NSU-Museum". In 1989, the museum was remodeled. At this time, the two historical Bandhaus and Amtshaus (palace) buildings were connected by a modern steel and glass ramp/staircase. The name "staircase" is misleading, because the individual floors are accessible with wheelchair ramps. In 1991, the museum reopened with an area of almost 2000 m² with 350 exhibits. In 2005, the new conception of the museum started with a redesign of the racing department on the second floor. The new design offered a public open house event in its 50th anniversary year of 2006.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Motorcycle</span> Two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle

A motorcycle is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar from a saddle-style seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Auto Union</span> German automobile manufacturer

Auto Union AG, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NSU Ro 80</span> Motor vehicle

The NSU Ro 80 is a four-door, front-engine executive sedan manufactured and marketed by the West German firm NSU from 1967 until 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NSU Motorenwerke</span> German manufacturer

NSU Motorenwerke AG, or NSU, was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and pedal cycles, founded in 1873. Acquired by Volkswagen Group in 1969, VW merged NSU with Auto Union, creating Audi NSU Auto Union AG, ultimately Audi. The name NSU originated as an abbreviation of "Neckarsulm", the city where NSU was located.

<i><span title="German-language text"><i lang="de">Sd.Kfz. 2</i></span></i> Half track motorcycle used by the Nazi German military

The Sd.Kfz.2 is a half-track motorcycle with a single front wheel, better known as the Kleines Kettenkraftrad HK 101, shortened to Kettenkrad. It was used by the military of Nazi Germany during the Second World War.

This timeline of motorized bicycle history is a summary of the major events in the development and use of motorized bicycles and tricycles, which are defined as pedal cycles with motor assistance but which can be powered by pedals alone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hildebrand & Wolfmüller</span> Type of motorcycle

The Hildebrand & Wolfmüller was the world's first production motorcycle. Heinrich and Wilhelm Hildebrand were steam-engine engineers before they teamed up with Alois Wolfmüller to produce their internal combustion Motorrad in Munich in 1894.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neckarsulm</span> Town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Neckarsulm is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Heilbronn, and part of the district of Heilbronn. As of 2016, Neckarsulm had 26,800 inhabitants. The name Neckarsulm derives from the city's location where the Neckar and Sulm rivers meet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springer (vehicle)</span> Demolition vehicle

The Mittlerer Ladungsträger Springer was a demolition vehicle of the German Wehrmacht in World War II.

The history of the motorcycle begins in the second half of the 19th century. Motorcycles are descended from the "safety bicycle," a bicycle with front and rear wheels of the same size and a pedal crank mechanism to drive the rear wheel. Despite some early landmarks in its development, the motorcycle lacks a rigid pedigree that can be traced back to a single idea or machine. Instead, the idea seems to have occurred to numerous engineers and inventors around Europe at around the same time.

Rheinmetall Automotive is the Automotive sector of the parent group Rheinmetall. The company emerged in 1997 through the merger of KS Kolbenschmidt GmbH, Neckarsulm, and Pierburg GmbH, Neuss. Hence, at its various traditional locations the company is commonly known as Kolbenschmidt or Pierburg. 40 production plants in Europe, the Americas, Japan, India and China employ a total workforce of around 11,000. Products are developed in cooperation with international auto manufacturers. Rheinmetall Automotive ranks among the 100 biggest auto industry suppliers worldwide and is an important partner to the industry for such products as exhaust gas recirculation systems, secondary-air systems, coolant pumps, and pistons for car gasoline engines and as well as for the commercial vehicle sector.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Museum Autovision</span>

Museum Autovision is a museum for cars, motorcycles, bicycles and alternative propulsion in Altlußheim, a small town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dresden Transport Museum</span>

The Dresden Transport Museum displays vehicles of all modes of transport, such as railway, shipping, road and air traffic, under one roof.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NSU Quick 50</span> Light motorcycle manufactured by NSU Motorenwerke AG

The NSU Quick 50 was a light motorcycle manufactured by NSU Motorenwerke AG. NSU started producing the Quick 50 in Neckarsulm, Germany in 1962. 9,323 Quick 50 motorcycles were built before NSU stopped manufacturing motorcycles in 1965. Having produced bikes and automobiles since 1873, NSU was purchased by Volkswagen and was merged with Auto Union in 1969 to create Audi. To this day NSU bikes are sought after collectors' pieces, and for some still serve as functioning modes of transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NSU Typ 110</span> Motor vehicle

The NSU Typ 110 is a small car that was made by NSU between 1965 and 1972. It was first presented at the 1965 Frankfurt Motor Show, widening NSU's range in the process. It was based on the NSU Prinz 1000 but with a longer wheelbase and a front overhang which increased available space both in the passenger cabin and in the luggage compartment. With an external length of four metres the car took NSU into the lower rungs of the middle class saloon sector, as it existed at that time in West Germany. It was to distance the model from the small car sector that for this model NSU abandoned the Prinz name which had till then been carried by their passenger cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scooter (motorcycle)</span> Low-speed motorcycle

A scooter is a motorcycle with an underbone or step-through frame, a seat, and a platform for the rider's feet, emphasizing comfort and fuel economy. Elements of scooter design were present in some of the earliest motorcycles, and motor scooters have been made since at least 1914.

Daimler <i>Reitwagen</i> First motorcycle, 1885

The Daimler Reitwagen or Einspur was a motor vehicle made by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach in 1885. It is widely recognized as the first motorcycle. Daimler is often called "the father of the motorcycle" for this invention. Even when the steam powered two-wheelers that preceded the Reitwagen, the Michaux-Perreaux and Roper of 1867–1869, and the 1884 Copeland, are considered motorcycles, it remains nonetheless the first gasoline internal combustion motorcycle, and the forerunner of all vehicles, land, sea and air, that use its overwhelmingly popular engine type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hercules W-2000</span> Type of motorcycle

The Hercules W-2000 is a motorcycle which was made by Hercules in Germany. It was the first production motorcycle with a Wankel engine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audi Forum Ingolstadt</span> Building in Ingolstadt, Germany

The Audi Forum Ingolstadt is a building complex owned by Audi AG, located at their largest operation center in Ingolstadt. On 15 December 2000, the Audi Forum Ingolstadt was opened. Located on the site are meeting rooms, a customer center, Audi museum mobile, varying exhibitions, restaurants, and an art house cinema. The Forum has about 400,000 visitors yearly.

References

  1. Bloker, Ben (15 December 2009), "German museum built on a passion for cycling", Stars and Stripes European edition, retrieved 19 December 2009

Coordinates: 49°11′30″N9°13′21″E / 49.19156°N 9.2224°E / 49.19156; 9.2224