Autostadt

Autostadt opened in 2000 beside the Volkswagen plant as the place where customers collect new cars, and the collection process was designed as an event: two glass silo towers, forty-eight metres high, hold around four hundred cars each, stacked in a spiral and delivered to the ground by automated lift in about forty-five seconds, visible through the glass. Around them a landscaped park holds pavilions for the group's brands and the ZeitHaus, a museum of automotive history with cars from many manufacturers, not just Volkswagen. Factory tours run into the plant, which is one of the largest car factories in the world.

History

The idea for Autostadt began in 1994 as a way to show how Volkswagen vehicles are made, linked with the company's presence at Expo 2000 in Hanover, and in 1998 work began on the former site of a fuel company beside the Wolfsburg plant on the north bank of the Mittelland Canal. The complex, the work of more than 400 architects, was planned as a new urban centre close to downtown Wolfsburg, and the main pavilion opened in May 2000, after an investment reported at about 850 million Deutsche Mark (Wikipedia, Autostadt).

What you'll find

• The car towers - two glass silos delivering vehicles by automated lift.
• The ZeitHaus - a car history museum covering many manufacturers.
• The brand pavilions - separate buildings for each group marque.
• The factory tours - trips into one of the world's largest car plants.

When to go

April to October for the park; the site is open year-round. Factory tours must be booked ahead and do not run at weekends or during plant holidays.

Before you go

Factory tours book out and are unavailable at weekends. Tower deliveries happen on customer schedules, not on demand. It is a brand experience.

Nearby

Braunschweig lies southwest; Hanover is west.

Key facts