STUTTGART, GERMANY :

When a work trip seemed to start and end with everything but the star, I managed to cook up a white lie and dash off to the Mercedes-Benz Museum with only two hours to spare before closing time.

As you approach the building you can sense the grandeur that awaits inside - but trust me this museum beats every expectation. The Mercedes-Benz Museum, which opened in 2006, is Stuttgart's most visited museum, with about 800,000 (in 2023) visitors annually. The building is modelled on the double helix of a DNA spiral. In its interior, on an area of 16,500 m², 160 vehicles and over 1,500 exhibits are on display.

The current building, which stands directly outside the main gate of the Daimler factory in Stuttgart, was designed by UN Studio – A Dutch architectural firm. It is based on a unique cloverleaf concept using three overlapping circles with the centre removed to form a triangular atrium recalling the shape of a Wankel engine. One only realizes the significance of the design once you start the tour.

Daimler is the world's oldest automobile manufacturer, with a history that goes all the way back to the 19th century. Encapsulating this history is an onerous task that  the Mercedes-Benz Museum does in a unique fashion as you can experience the  135-year-old history of the automobile and the history of the Mercedes-Benz brand from Day One to the present. The history of Mercedes and the auto industry is cleverly juxtaposed with world history and events such as World War 2 to significant breakthroughs in science, technology and entertainment as well. The tour starts from the top of the building and then you walk down floor by floor in a circular motion. From here, visitors make their way in wide curves down two circular routes through automotive history – from 1886 up to the present day. 

The exhibition is divided into "Legend" and "Collection" rooms. The seven Legend Rooms tell the story of the Mercedes-Benz brand, subdivided into themes and eras. They illustrate the history of the automobile and the birth of the Mercedes brand up to the present day. The "Legend" rooms are linked by ramps which outline the history of the company within the context of world history. The five Collection Rooms show the diversity of the brand portfolio over the years. Exhibits include the Popemobile, Princess Diana's red SL, the "Grand Mercedes" Type 770 owned by the Emperor Hirohito and the bus used by the 1974 German national men's football team. Both the Legend and the Collection tour lead to the exhibition section "Silver Arrows – Races and Records". 

In a large banked curve, legendary record-winning cars are on show: the Phoenix racing car, the "Blitzen-Benz" and Silver Arrows, including Nico Rosberg's F1 World Championship winner from the year 2016. The permanent exhibition is augmented by the "Fascination Technology" section, which gives insights into current themes and the complex processes involved in vehicle production. 150 works by 90 international and national artists from 20 countries are mostly integrated into the permanent exhibition of the Mercedes-Benz Museum.

Audio guides provide additional information in the following languages: German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and Russian. Since the autumn of 2020 two mascots – Carlchen and Carlotta – have joined the museum as popular attractions and identification figures. Carlotta's appearance was inspired by the museum architecture; she's accompanied by the car mascot, Carlchen. In "Bertha's Restaurant", the museum restaurant, visitors can round off their circular tour with regional specialities and international cuisine.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is in the direct vicinity of the Mercedes-Benz Arena and the Cannstatter Wasen fairground, where the Stuttgart Spring Festival and the Stuttgart Beer Festival are held each year.Visitors exploring the city with the Stuttgart City tour can get off and on the bus at the Museum. And with the Stuttgart Wine Tour, which leaves from the Museum, they can visit the nearby vineyards with the Hop on/Hop off system.