Oldtimer ride through Czechia!

Škoda Museum Mladá Boleslav: Czech classics

Where else to start but at the museum, which, under the motto Tradition, Evolution and Precision, presents the story of the most famous Czech brand, one of the oldest makes of car in the world.  All the more authentic given that the exhibitions are located in the former production halls. Interactive multimedia features mean visitors literally walk through the history of the car company.


 
There are over 300 exhibits on display, mostly series of cars. But there are also motorcycles, and even one bicycle. The collection also includes racing specials that regularly take part in prestigious veteran rallies, such as the Kitzbüheler Alpen Rally, the Silvretta Classic and the Czech Oldtimer Bohemia Rally. The museum also includes the prestigious multi-purpose “Laurin & Klement Forum” hall and the modern Václav café and restaurant. Online booking is required for foreign-language guided tours. You can spice up your visit to the Škoda Museum in Mladá Boleslav with a unique tour of the Škoda Auto production plants and get a first-hand look at how the most popular Czech cars are made.

One tip to finish:

Combine a visit to the museum with a tour of the birthplace of the famous German-born Czech designer Ferdinand Porsche near Liberec.

Trabant vs. Cadillac: The clash of two worlds

Our quest for veterans continues as we head to cosmopolitan Prague. The next stop is the Trabant Museum Prague Motol, which commemorates the legendary plastic cars from East Germany. You’ll see the cars in their original condition, while the period garage lets you see what it was like to sit and change gears in a Trabant. There is also the legendary Trabant Kübel military special, which guarded the Brandenburg Gate against the invasion of the imperialists, as well as everyday objects from the GDR.

You’ll find yourself in a completely different world during a visit to the JK Classics Museum, located just a few kilometres west of Prague. It showcases almost a hundred luxury American vintage cars in four halls, including well-known icons such as Cadillac, Lincoln or FORD, as well as lesser-known models from AMC and Packard. The exhibition covers the era from the early twentieth century to the 1970s and also includes utility vehicles - ambulances, trucks and firefighting specials. There is also a period petrol station, a scrapyard and stylish refreshments in BAR59. During your visit, you’ll feel like you’re in America on the famous ROUTE 66.

Gilded motorbikes for the Vatican and fancy tractors

A Dream Come True, that's the name of the family exhibition of veteran motorbikes, located not far from the "American Museum" in the village of Pavlíkov. Visitors from all over the world have been admiring exceptional bikes there for many years. One of them is a gold-plated motorcycle destined for the Vatican. The owner of the museum, who inherited his ancestors' skill and passion for all forms of transport, also collected other means of transport and farm machinery. His collection boasts motorcycles from Czechia and around the world, so you’ll see polished Jawas, German BMWs, Belgian Gillete machines, British Ariels and unmissable Indians imported from the USA.
 
We’ll stay in Central Bohemia for a while and head east of Prague to the Veterans Museum in Radovesnice. The buildings of the former farmstead house a unique family collection of historical motorbikes, trucks, tractors and other agricultural equipment. You can admire lovingly crafted machines of traditional Czech brands such as Jawa, ČZ and the legendary Zetor. There are also tractors from the USA, Germany and Austria.

The immortal Tatra: A convertible for Stalin and the winner of the Dakar Rally 

Want to see one of the world's first mass-produced cars in the flesh? Or the desert specials that did so well in stages of the Paris-Dakar Rally? Then you have to go to Kopřivnice in the east of Czechia. It's well worth it. This small town boasts three museums that offer an appealing look back at the story of Tatra.
 
The Tatra Museum has 70 beautiful oldtimers on display, including a Präsident, one of the first cars in the world, called the horseless carriage. The exhibition also contains a magnificent Tatra convertible for the Soviet leader Stalin. Another of the local museums is dedicated to trucks. Winners of the Dakar Rally have their proud place in the large collection.

The smallest of the museums, the Oldtimer Family Museum, exhibits dozens of oldtimers from all over the world in a small space. It prides itself on possessing the only surviving example of a German Windhoff from 1902. This is a unique car because only two were produced. All the museums are part of the Techno Trail of technical heritage sites.

Veteran Arena Olomouc: motorbikes, phones and a tear-drop!

Besides some magnificent monuments, the historical city of Olomouc, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is home to the largest museum of veterans open to the public in Czechia. At its heart are Czechoslovak-made cars, especially Tatra, Praga, Aero, Škoda, Jawa and Walter. One real local rarity is the first aerodynamic car made in Czechia, known as the Tear-drop. The inventory of artefacts includes historical telephones from the 20th century, a huge collection of radio receivers and gramophones from the USA.

The last two stops on our veteran ride are in the town of wine in sunny South Moravia. In the Znojmo Motor Museum, located in an abandoned hydroelectric power station, you can admire 40 exhibits on the theme of transport. The beautiful cars and motorcycles are complemented by bicycles, steam engines and period driving licences and brochures. One interesting exhibit is the largest collection of jacks in Europe.
 
Finally, we recommend the 1st Czech Motorcycle Museum in Lesná near Znojmo. The village of Lesná near Znojmo is home to a large exhibition of cars, motorcycles, sidecars and other interesting exhibits.

Where to go:

• Oldtimer Bohemia Rally: 12 to 14 September 2024 in Mladá Boleslav
• Ecce Homo Historic: 6 to 8 September in Šternberk
• Císarská veterán rallye: 17. 8. 2024 in Neplachovice
• Internationale Tatra Veterán Rallye Beskydy 2024: 30. 8. to 1. 9. 2024 in Kopřivnice