The Alsace; Eastern France. Bordering Germany, this region has witnessed many battles for its ownership over the centuries, alternating between the aforementioned nations; it has been part of France since the end of World War 2. Now, using the nearby River Rhine as a natural border, it comes across as a slightly confused area to anyone visiting for the first time. German sounding town names, German based food, mix this with a French language and culture. This area of contrasts; between the rolling, densely-wooded hills to the West of the Rhine and the flatter lands to the East, is famous for it's 'Vins d' Alsace', the Pinot Noir, Pinot Blanc, and the much rated Gewürztraminer, a white wine of some distinction. Another notable product from the region was the automobile. In fact during the 20th century the Alsace saw many famous French manufacturers take advantage of this region's skilled and gifted people, none more notable than Bugatti, the most artisan of carmakers, started by Ettore Bugatti and later led by his son Jean.
Most classic, vintage and old car enthusiasts in general, especially those with a bias toward the Bugatti marque, will be aware of the collection started by the Schlumpf brothers Hans and Fritz. This famous, or should that read infamous, collection of automobilia which, up until the late 70's, was virtually unknown to anyone outside of a close network of highly trusted people linked to the very private and secretive Schlumpfs.
The background to how the collection grew from a handful of cars to one in excess of 450 at the time of the collections 'discovery', starts after World War 2. Initially the Schlumpf brothers, through a number of very shrewd business deals, had developed a textile business in Mulhouse. By the late 50's the business had grown to impressive proportions, dominating its waterside location in the industrial heart of the town. Fritz had pursued a limited racing career; mostly local hill climbs in a type 57 Bugatti. It may have been this, plus the regional link to Bugatti which triggered the Schlumpf's Bugatti -buying frenzy between the period 1958 - 1975. During this time they set out to create a private collection of cars, initially based upon obtaining one example of every Bugatti model ever produced. But this soon turned into an almost uncontrollable addiction. The brothers would identify Bugatti owners throughout the world, contact them either themselves personally, or by the use of a go-between, usually someone with a thorough knowledge of automobilia and market value. This latter method quickly became the more desirable method of negotiating the deal as it freed the brother's from being involved with the 'tacky' business of agreeing a price. Soon however, the brothers realised that people could be persuaded to sell any number of the type of cars they sought - whole collections even if enough money was available, which at this time it certainly was. It was also helpful that the market for cars, at that time, was very depressed.
In Mulhouse, the Schlumpf's textile business was known to be very much run by the owners, autocratic to the extreme it was said that the brothers would check every worker in and out every day, just to ensure that anyone arriving late, or leaving early, had the appropriate amount of pay deducted from their weekly wage. Two minutes lateness meant losing 15 minutes pay from a wage which was pretty low to start with. The brothers were not famous for their generosity, pay deals were unheard of, bonuses were non-existent. So, as one can imagine, this workforce was none too pleased when they eventually realised where those overdue pay increases and bonuses had ended up. You could say that the Schlumpfs had allowed the growth of the car collection to get a little out of control.
Hans and Fritz had devoted their collection to their mother, Mrs. Jeanne Schlumpf (1878 - 1957), who by all accounts was an over-protective matriarch to the boys. Not much is known about their father Carl Schlumpf, except that he worked in textiles when the boys were very young. Carl died in 1918.
In 1871, Alsace became German and, in 1899, Selestat gave the ruins and surrounding land to Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. He wanted it to be a symbol of the western frontier of his empire and decided to restore it to its 12th century glory but as a medieval museum rather than a royal residence. The architect was Bodo Ebhards and the work took 8 years starting in 1900. Although the architect consulted historical documents, his restoration is often criticised. Many people had found the ruins romantic, but the restoration was considered pretentious by many. 
:wink: )
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