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Top 10 Things To Do In Mulhouse

Mulhouse is a city in eastern France close to the Swiss and German borders. Through its manufacturing, Mulhouse has established itself as an industrial powerhouse hence dubbed The French Manchester.

Despite Mulhouse being an industrial town it still remains a great tourist destination having been certified as a ville d’art et d’histoire by the French government. The city is famous for its museums such as the famous Cite de l’Automobile, the museum has the largest collection of automobiles and Bugatti motor vehicles in the world and the Cité du Train, the largest locomotive museum in Europe. Here are 10 interesting things to do in Mulhouse;

1. Temple Of Saint-Etienne

Temple of Saint Etienna – Wikipedia

The Temple of Saint Etienne is a Neo-Gothic Protestant church designed by Jean-Baptiste Schacre. The church was built between 1858 and 1868 on the grounds of a 12th-century Catholic parish church. The current stained glass windows on the Temple today originally belonged to the 12th-century church dedicated to the same saint. The church is also referred to as the Cathedral of Mulhouse due to its central location at the main square in Mulhouse.

The church has a 97-meter high bell tower making it one of the tallest Calvinist churches in Europe and the tallest in France. It is the only church with a gallery that allows visitors to get close to the stained glass windows that have scene from the New and the Old Testaments. During Christmas period concerns, exhibitions and cultural events are held here.

2. Cite de l’Automobile

Musée de l’automobile Mulhouse – Wikimedia Commons

It is an automobile museum whose collection is built around the Schlumpf Collection. The museum is dedicated to the Schlumpf brothers’ mother Jeanne Schlumpf.  At the entrance of the museum, there is a large shrine dedicated to her. The museum is listed as a National Heritage site by the French government.

The museum has a collection of over 520 vehicles displayed in three main sections; the motor experience documents the history of motor vehicles from their 19th-century conception to the current echo friendly smart vehicles. The motor racing displays racing cars through the years with the oldest dating as far as 1908. The motorcar masterpieces displays prestigious cars from the 1920s to the 1940s.

3. Musee Electropolis

Electropolis Mulhouse – Wikipedia

The museum was founded in 1992 and it is dedicated to the history of electricity and household appliances. The museum houses over 12,000 objects related to the discovery of electricity including a 1901 steam engine generator, 1881 Voss’s electrostatic machine and the retrospective of pioneering investors in the field of electricity such as Benjamin Franklin, Volta and many more.

At the museum, you can explore the history of electricity from Antiquity to the present day through multimedia shows, technical presentations and demonstrations that you can participate in. It is a fun way to learn about the complex and long relationship between man and electricity throughout the ages.

4. Musee De L’impression Sur Etoffe

Musée de l’impression sur étoffes – Wikipedia

The muse de L’impression sur Etoffe translates to the fabric printing museum in English. It was founded in 1857 for professionals in the fabric printing sector. In 1911 it was opened to the general public. The museum is dedicated to educating people on textile printing by displaying a collection on samples, materials and documents from all over the world brought together by the Mulhouse Industrial Company.

The museum has documentation of around six million print samples from the last 200 years. It has printing demonstrations of traditional methods where wooden board machines and copper rollers were used. A tour to the museum will help you understand fabric printing as decorative art, fashion and its impact on both local and industrial history of Mulhouse.

5. Cite Du Train

Cite du train – Wikipedia

Cite Du Train is the largest railway way museum in France and one of the tenth-largest in the world. The museum is responsible for preserving major historical French National Railway Company equipment. The museums began to take shape when Mulhouse’s city council offered land in Dornach to the French National Railway Company in 1961 in order to present their locomotives.

The display in the museum is divided into three main exhibitions; the platforms of history, around 64 pieces of rolling stock retrace the timeline of rail in France in eight stages. The train trail, it details the golden age of the railways between 1844 and 1960. The Railway panorama, a collection of outdoor activities and exhibitions.

6. Hotel De Ville

Mulhouse hotel de ville – Wikimedia Commons

Hotel De Ville is a renaissance building that was originally used as a city hall from 1552.  The original city hall was destroyed by fire in 1551 and the new city hall was reconstructed on the foundation of the previous hall from 1552 to 1553. Christopher Bock painted the building in bright red and gold. The painted elevated the building’s status such that Montaigne described it as a magnificent and all golden palace.

The building houses the hall of the Grand Council which is used for municipal council meetings and ceremonies despite it no longer being an administrative building. Today the building is famous for hosting weddings and social events. It also has an art collection of the Renaissance period.

7. Parc Zoologique Et Botanique

Parc Zoologique et Botanique – Wikipedia

Mulhouse Zoological and Botanical Park are located at the edge of the Tannenwald forest covering approximately 25 hectares. It was created in 1868 by humanitarian industrialists as a romantic garden and a zoo on a 4-hectare piece of land. However, during World War II the park was greatly damaged and restoration to its current status began in 1950 by the municipal.

The park today is dedicated to preserving rare species of plants and animals. The zoo has more than 900 animals representing 170 spies. The zoos rare species include five species of monkeys, three species of lemurs and one species of wallaby.

The botanical garden contains 3,500 plant varieties. The rare and endangered plants include Catharanthus from Madagascar, Canary Islands and Madeira. The park is listed by the French Ministry of Cultures as one of the Remarkable Gardens of France.

8. Bollwerk Tower

Bollwerk Tower – Wikipedia

Tour du Bollwerk tower was built in the 14^th century and was part of the fortifications of the old Mulhouse. In the 19^th century, it was referred to as Tour du Cochon due to its close proximity to the slaughterhouse.  It was listed as a historical monument in 1898.

The tower has a special place in Mulhouse history as the imperial eagle reminds us that Mulhouse was granted the status of Free City of the Empire in 1308.

9. Mulhouse Industrial Society

Soci̩t̩ industrielle de Mulhouse РWikipedia

In French, it translates to La Société Industrielle de Mulhouse abbreviated as SIM. It is a non-profit organization established in 1826 under Charles X by protestant industrialists. The aim of the organization was to develop the local manufacturing and agricultural industries. The industrial society is made up of several committees including; fine arts, chemistry, mechanics, commerce, natural history, public utility, paper industry, history, statistics and photography.

Today many of the museums in Mulhouse are supported by SIM as it has diversified its activities to include charitable works. SIM played a key role in the creation of the museum of printing fabrics, museum of fine arts and the zoological and botanical garden. The SIM headquarters also has a collection of artistic, scientific and technological artifacts on display.

10.Écomusée d’Alsace

Ecomus̩e Alsace РWikipedia

The Ecomuseum of Alsace, in English, is an outdoor museum located on a former industrial wasteland of mine Alsace potash in Ungersheima.  The museum origins were a result of the 1970s demolition where old Alsatian houses were to be destroyed. Several young people led by Marc Grodwohi opposed this move and instead campaigned for the preservation of these historical buildings.

In 1980 the group acquired the current piece of land and saved the buildings from destruction by demolishing, transporting and rebuilding them brick by brick at the new site. The museum is one of the biggest outdoor heritage museums.