Fans of European car history are in turmoil today after Austria’s Top Mountain Crosspoint Motorcycle Museum suffered a catastrophic fire on 18 January 2021. Nestled at the foot of the Austrian side of the Timmelsjoch Pass – where Austria and Italy meet in the depths of the Alps – the museum was founded in 2016 by twin brothers Alban and Attila Scheiber as a way to showcase their collection of classic irons.
The museum housed about 230 classic, mostly European bikes from Sunbeam, Brough Superior and Zundapp, along with a smaller collection of vintage cars, including Porsches and Ferraris. Vintage American bikes from Harley-Davidson, Indian and even a Flying Merkel were also part of their collection. The Scheibers have loved motorcycles since childhood and built a collection of their favorites all their lives before finally showcasing the bikes to the public.
If you consult the official Tyrolean tourism magazine, you will learn one thing that probably contributed to the fire. The Google translation reads: ‘the building with its wooden façade fits harmoniously into the alpine landscape’ If you have never had the chance to visit this museum in happier times, look through photos and videos of a beautiful wooden structure, filled with all kinds of motorcycle taxes. Race legend Giacomo Agostini even managed to bring this museum back to life when it started.
It is unclear at this stage how much damage was done. An alarm went off at about 4:40 a.m., and by the time firefighters arrived, the building was already engulfed in flames, according to Moto.IT. 60 firefighters quickly jumped to work trying to prevent the fire from spreading to a restaurant and other buildings nearby. So far, local media have reported that no people were physically injured by the fire.
There is no information yet on what caused the fire, but we will keep you posted when we know more.