Another Motorcycle Museum Burns to the Ground

A motorcycle museum in Austria, famed for being the European Union’s highest, has burnt to the ground, with over 200 classic motorcycles lost in the conflagration.

The museum was situated on the Passo Del Rombo road in Austria, at an altitude of 2175m. It housed one of the most valuable motorcycle collections in Europe, with roughly 230 classic motorcycles. Included were examples of Brough Superior, Vincent, Matchless, Sunbeam, and Zündapp, with around 100 manufacturers represented. Giacomo Agostini had an association with the museum.

The local fire brigade was on the scene quickly but not fast enough to save any of the bikes in the 3000 square-meter exhibition area. Fire erupted at around 4am local time but it is unclear what caused it. The building featured lots of wooden beams as a styling feature. It was relatively new, only opening in 2016, though was closed at the time of the fire because of COVID-19 restrictions.

This isn’t the greatest loss of classic motorcycles in one fire; in 2003 the British National Motorcycle Museum went up in flames, with the loss of almost 400 significant bikes.