People, cars and what drives them - this is the slogan of Germany's Autostadt, a theme park that attracts people who love cars, culture and unique events.
As the Volkswagen Group's communication platform, the City of Cars invites visitors to experience a new aspect of mobility, as the entire city focuses on showcasing the various aspects of human mobility rather than manufacturing cars.
What is it anyway Autostadt? Near the headquarters of the automotive giant Volkswagen, Europe's largest car manufacturer, in the German city Wolfsburg, the corporation built a veritable little city dedicated to the car or cars under its umbrella Volkswagena. The car brands that make up the group are presented in eight pavilions, and the biggest attraction and one of the main reasons for the creation of Autostadt is the Service Center, where an average of 550 customers pick up their vehicles a day in the largest collection center in the world. Just this year, on May 17th to be precise, they solemnly marked the takeover of the two millionth vehicle, and last year as many as 173,374 buyers took over the keys to new cars, which together with as many as 2.3 million visitors meant that 2012 was the most successful year for Autostadt so far.
Pavilion dedicated to the brand Porsche, which was the last to come under the auspices of the Volkswagen Group, was opened last June. In fact, the Porsche Pavilion is the first new building after the official opening Autostadt. The pavilion soon became a real attraction, as it represents the most prestigious member of the family Volkswagen. The building of the pavilion itself is also something special, as its location in the park and fountains illustrates the close ties between Volkswagen and Porsche.
More than just a factory
Wanting to make taking delivery of a new vehicle a special experience, Volkswagen decided to show the buyers of their vehicles something more than just their factory. Next to the service center, there are two car towers rising 48 meters high, in which as many as 800 vehicles are waiting to be picked up. But the most popular attraction Autostadt it is ZeitHaus Museum. The most visited car museum in the world, it shows the historical development of Volkswagen vehicles as well as cult cars of other brands. The common thread that connects all the exhibited cars is that they all played an important role in the development of the automotive industry, design and technology. Of course, not only history is presented in the Autostadt, visitors can also Automotive design studio they learn a lot about the latest design trends, a multimedia exhibition Level green - the concept of sustainable development shows current research in six departments, which can be viewed with the help of a short presentation or we can delve more deeply into individual topics.
An important innovation of last year is a new one safe driving training ground, which is an extension of tracks representing different terrains and driving conditions. Poligon combines driving lessons with the latest safety technology. In Autostadt, 10,250 safe driving trainings have already been organized on the training ground, and more than 13,000 drivers have already tested themselves on the training ground in various driving conditions. Last year, more than 10,000 visitors also took advantage of the unique opportunity to ride the streets for free Wolfsburg with electric cars.
Mobility in culture – Movimentos
It is a highlight for visitors who are more interested in culture than steel horses international festival Movements, dedicated to dance. The annual festival attracts more than 30,000 spectators to Wolfsburg, who enjoy the dance spectacles of renowned dance ensembles from all over the world, as well as many renowned pop, jazz and classical musicians. This year's festival, already in its eleventh year, ended on May 4 and 5 with two sold-out concerts by the band Rammstein but also the other venues were almost sold out. The theme of this year's festival was tolerance, and one world dance premiere and many musical innovations were dedicated to this important point of view.
Summers are also full of events, this year was dedicated to water. In addition to the floating island s cocktails and various workshops where young and old had fun, almost half a million visitors saw a water show created especially for Autostadt. Winter brings different joys: the illuminated smoke billowing from the chimneys of the Volkswagen power plant will act as the tallest candles in the world, a skating show will take place on the ice rink, the Autostadt will be dressed in a festive atmosphere, where there will be a Christmas fair with more than 20 meter high Christmas tree.
Love goes through the stomach (and a soft bed)
Autostadt binds a strong partnership with the group Mövenpick, which owns as many as ten of the thirteen restaurants in the Autostadt. The offer is diverse, from exquisite five-course meals prepared by the master chef Daniel Kluge in the restaurant Chardonnay, we can indulge in carnal pleasures in the Beef Club restaurant, let's treat ourselves to fresh pasta in La Coccinella restaurant or fresh delicacies from Das Brot bakery. Because the chefs are aware of the importance of a healthy diet, they buy only organic products from local producers and use them in their restaurants. The most famous restaurant among gourmets is Aqua, located in the hotel The Ritz-Carlton Wolfsburg. Its manager, a chef awarded with three Michelin stars, Sven Elverfeld famous for its amazing combinations of classic European cuisine, and the restaurant is regularly ranked among the best European culinary temples; in May of this year, the gastronomic guide S. Pellegrino ranked it among the world's fifty best restaurants and as the highest ranked German restaurant. Anyone who wants to spend the night in the beautifully landscaped parks with lagoons surrounding the visitor areas can stay in one of the 174 rooms of the five-star luxury Ritz-Carlton Hotel, but it makes sense to book in advance, as the hotel is almost fully booked.
Autostadt was opened on June 1, 2000. 435 million euros were spent on the construction and arrangement of the pavilions, service center, museum, restaurants and hotel, which are spread over 28 hectares. Autostadt is owned by the Volkswagen Group and is open every day of the year. Since its official opening, the theme park has been visited by more than 26 million visitors, with almost 2.3 million coming last year alone. Autostadt is also an educational center, last year more than 1,800 educational courses were attended by more than 280,000 knowledge seekers.
More at www.autostadt.de
Volkswagen Group sells Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Porsche, Seat, Škoda passenger cars, Ducati motorcycles and MAN, Scania and Volkswagen commercial vehicles.
More at www.volkswagen.com
More information about the festival Movements and the program of events can be found at www.movimentos.de.
