10 years' success in the Middle Kingdom - Sick

100 years of automotive history at the Autoworld Museum in Brussels
A vehicular
journeythrough time
One of Europe’s most interesting automobile museums is accommodated
in the Palais du Cinquantenaire: the Brussels Autoworld. It tells of
times long past, while also stimulating a critical consideration of the car
in today’s social environment.
>> Several hundred cars can be seen –
lovingly restored and looked after.
Horse-drawn vehicles are just as much
a part of the museum as are the first
“real” cars and their successors: state
carriages, luxury limousines, convertibles,
coupés – as well as buses and
trucks. Motorcycles are a further area
of interest.
A variety of collections embedded
in their time
Several private contributors have lent
their collections to the museum over
the decades. The Mahy Collection
shows extraordinary and prestigious
vehicles, the Thiry Marcel Collection
concentrates on two-wheeled vehicles,
while buses and transport vehicles of
SICK insight 2/2004
all types are to be seen in the Gallery
Pierre d‘Ieteren. There is also a replica
of the 1902 Motor Show, and a department
for the history of car design.
Looking at the exhibits conjures up in
one’s mind’s eye the history of the last
century. The Belle Époque of the 20s,
two world wars, the limousine era and
the revolutions of the 50s and 60s, as
well as the last three decades – during
which the car finally developed into a
commodity for the masses.
Goods for the masses = good for
the masses?
In addition to its purely expositional
aims, the Brussels Autoworld also follows
technical and social education
aims. Children and young adults are of-
Autoworld in Brussels, Belgium Museum 43
fered a variety of visitor programmes
that, in addition to the automobile as
technology, also consider how the car
has influenced the appearance of the
world, the development of societies,
and the attitudes and ways of life of
mankind and families.
Whether the car, as a good for the
masses was, and is, always good for
the masses – the visitor must come to
their own conclusion. Whatever the
case, the Brussels Autoworld provides
a richness of stimuli here.
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You can obtain further information
about the Brussels Autoworld
on the Internet at:
www.autoworld.be