A new museum has opened in Austria that is dedicated to the life of Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Thousands of fans gathered in the village of Thal, near Graz to greet the 64 year-old, former California governor and Hollywood action star at an opening ceremony.

The museum is located in the first-floor flat where Schwarzenegger spent his childhood.

The museum is home to mementoes including Schwarzenegger’s first bodybuilding weights and the desk from his governor’s office in Sacramento.

“It is a little house that stands here behind us, it is an old house, it has been repainted in yellow and it has been freshly renovated. But it was here that I spent my youth,” Schwarzenegger commented.

The 64-year-old said he hoped the story of his curious transition from bodybuilder to movie star to politician would inspire others.

“It is my great wish that everyone who visits this museum fully understands that everyone can be successful in their own way. Everyone. Stay hungry! That was one of my first movies, it has always been my philosophy. This house should carry this message,” he said.