"It's not technology that makes history, but the people who invented it." This sentence is attributed to Ferdinand Porsche, the designer of the legendary VW Beetle. Porsche is one of the technology pioneers from Bohemia and Moravia who made history and paved the way for today's mobility. His 150th birthday is an occasion for the Sudeten German Museum in Munich to follow in the footsteps of these pioneers.

Special exhibition "Ferdinand Porsche and other pioneers. Pioneers of mobility from Bohemia and Moravia" © Sudeten German Museum, Schimpfhauser

The search for traces begins with the railroad, the first means of mass transportation. However, the focus of the exhibition is on the "self-movers", the bicycle, the motorcycle and the automobile. They brought individual freedom of movement. Behind all these means of transportation, not only in Bohemia and Moravia, were resourceful engineers and creative designers. In addition to Ferdinand Porsche, the most famous of them, the exhibition presents Franz von Gerstner and the first horse-drawn railroad in Central Europe. A bicycle factory founded by Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement in 1895 became the car manufacturer Škoda in 1925. Even such bizarre creations as the meter-long Böhmerland motorcycle by Albin Liebisch are on display. The museum is also presenting its latest addition, a Tatra DELTA from 1927, which was designed by Hans Ledwinka. An absolute discovery, however, is Willibald Gatter. He built the first affordable small car for everyone even before Ferdinand Porsche's Volkswagen. Today, there is only one Gatter car left in the world. Thanks to a private collector, this rare vehicle can be presented in an exhibition for the first time.

Ferdinand Porsche © Unternehmensarchiv-Porsche-AG

The Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, the Škoda Museum in Jungbunzlau/Mladá Boleslav, the Deutsches Museum in Munich, the PS.Speicher Einbeck, the German Bicycle Museum in Bad Brückenau, the Egerland Museum in Marktredwitz and the Technikmuseum Sinsheim, among others, are also providing attractive loans.
As natural as driving is today, the beginnings were adventurous. Baron Theodor von Liebieg from Reichenberg was one of these adventurers. He tested the suitability of the new technology for everyday use with the first long-distance journey lasting several days in the history of the automobile in 1894. The exhibition tells the story of his pioneering journey. As an accompanying publication, Liebieg's handwritten travel diaries appear in printed form for the first time. They complement the richly illustrated exhibition catalog.
The extensive program accompanying the exhibition offers guided tours and events for families with children, for individual visitors and for car enthusiasts.
July 18, 2025 to January 11, 2026
www.sudetendeutsches-museum.de