Louwman #MuseumWalk

It’s another Sunday, so it’s #MuseumWalk time!

Today we will be visiting The Louwman Museum, home to the world’s oldest private collection of motor cars, compiled by two generations of the Louwman family. The museum dates back to 1934 and now comprises over two hundred and fifty antique and classic motor cars. Experts regard the collection as one of the most beautiful in the World. The museum exudes passion. Each car has its own story to tell, its own contribution to history. The motor car is a mirror of culture.

The collection is housed in a purpose-built museum in The Hague / Netherlands, the city where P.W. Louwman established his Dodge and Chrysler import company. The building, designed by American architect Michael Graves, blends in sympathetically with its historic surroundings. The landscape gardens, designed by Lodewijk Baljon, complement the architecture of the building.

As soon as you take the elevator the tour officially begins and you’re transported in time to the 19th century, you’ll be passing trough an small Dutch farrier’s workshop and you’ll see the oldest vechicle in the museum.

You’ll also see the first permit allowing the use of a motor vehicle on the highways of Holland dating back to the 1898, which was four pages long, so good luck keeping that on you at anytime.

You’ll progress trough time and realise how amazing cars were back in the day.

Then you’ll go on a suspended pass and you’ll see this hanging around in the room and your head will just crash… How did they even put a plane in there? Woah!

Soon enough cars that starred in the movies will unleash all over and you’ve got oldies form the movie Genevieve, James Bond 007 Goldfinger, yes the amazing Aston Martin DB5! And one of my all time favourites, The Godfather.

The Louwman Museum isn’t lacking vehicles owned by celebrities either so you’ll see everything from Sir Winston Churchill’s Humber to Elvis Presley’s Customized Cadillac

Show cars? Lots of those! Remember the Maserati Medici post I made a few days ago? Where do you think I got the idea from?

And there’s always a fleet of weird cars, but with amazing ideas that you’ll sometimes wish to have influenced today’s car industry a little more.

Oh my God and the motorsport… God bless the motorsport!

You can also see Dr. Schoichiro Toyoda’s desk and the oldest Toyota on planet, the Model AA.

At some point you’ll be so in love that your camera’s battery will drain out, and you’ll take your phone for a spin because look there’s a whole Art Deco period you didn’t photograph!

By the end you will realise that you’ve just witnessed the best automobile museum there is to see and probably that the Louwman family is very, very rich.

Until next Sunday, when we’ll be returning to Germany to visit another amazing museum, have lots of fun fellow CTzens!

This article also promotes the new Dutch Community, so if you’re a Dutch speaking CTzen, I’d encourage you to jump in there for a talk with your car enthusiast compatriots.

If you missed the previous #MuseumWalk posts I did don’t forget to check them out:

1. Porsche Museum
2. Mercedes-Benz Museum