The new Unimog Museum opens at the end of January with opening weekend

Almost two years of construction, repeated delays due to material and tradesmen bottlenecks, cost explosion in almost all areas – all this will be forgotten when the Unimog Museum in Gaggenau reopens to visitors on the last weekend in January 2023.

Unimog and MB-trac show

From January 28 and 29, 2023, the exhibition “The Best of the Unimog Museum” will be on display and can be experienced in the overall building, which will then be more than twice as large. Almost all Unimog and MB-trac series will be presented, along with a number of attachments from a wide range of applications. Wherever possible, this show will be equipped with vehicles and other exhibits from the depots. In the course of its almost 17 years of existence, the museum has received many beautiful and unusual Unimogs, MB-tracs, power units and attachments as permanent loans, sold them for small sums of money or bequeathed them in wills, some of which have never before been on display in an exhibition.

Construction and interior

Designed by Kohlbecker Gesamtplan and realized by Grötz GmbH as general contractor, the new Unimog Museum not only offers an impressive visual appearance with lots of wood, but also space for twice as many Unimogs in the exhibition as before, as well as for the associated aggregates. All this is explained by means of new digital exhibit steles provided to the museum by the Gaggenau Unimog Club. Visitors can click their way through information about the specific vehicle and the model series, right up to photos and films with examples of applications.

In addition, large digital steles provide general information about the Unimog and its involvement in regional, German and international (economic) history. The “MB-trac” chapter is a major focus in the new museum. Four instead of two vehicles are on display, and the history of the MB-trac is documented in detail in words and moving pictures.

The Unimog exhibition on 200 square meters in the new building is supplemented by a permanent exhibition on automobile manufacturing in Gaggenau from 1894 to the present day – with five vehicles representing this history.

There is also a multimedia guide in German, English and French. You are welcome to download the corresponding app in advance from the Play or Appstore under the keyword “Unimog Museum”. You will be guided through the exhibition with your own smartphone and receive additional information in the form of videos at 15 stations.

However, it’s not just the information that’s on offer, but also the experience. In two cabs – one old and one new – you can get behind the wheel of the Unimog yourself and get a feel for what it was and is like to use a Unimog as a work tool.

Two additional event rooms, which open onto the edge of the forest and thus have their own unique atmosphere, and which are also equipped with the latest event technology, a separate sanitary area in the new hall, which can also be accessed from the outside during outdoor events, an exit sluice and a depot for furniture and exhibits round off the space on offer in the new building.

Construction chronology

Construction of the museum began in April 2021, and the topping-out ceremony was held on November 26, 2021. Interior construction then took another full year. Since the middle of 2021, work on the new design of the entire museum was carried out in parallel at full speed.

Finally, in January 2023, during a one-month closure phase, the old museum was dismantled and thoroughly cleaned with a lot of volunteer support, and the new museum, now twice as large, was set up.

Opening weekend

The festivities will begin on Thursday, January 26, 2023 at 5 p.m. with a celebration for all the craftsmen and volunteers involved in the construction. On Friday, January 27, 2023, a reception will be held at 7 p.m. for all supporters of the construction as well as representatives of politics and business. On January 28 and 29, 2023 , the museum will open its doors to all visitors. The program for the opening weekend will be finalized in early January and published on the homepage.