Ferdinand Porsche: Roots of Automotive Industry
The exhibition “Ferdinand Porsche and Other Pioneers” at the Sudeten German Museum in Munich traces the roots of mobility in Bohemia and Moravia, from bicycle production to Porsche and VW.
The exhibition, entitled “Ferdinand Porsche and Other Pioneers. Trailblazers of Mobility from Bohemia and Moravia,” (18.07.2025–11.01.2026) is much more than a tribute to elegant sports cars. It tells the story of an entire region, Bohemia and Moravia, as the cradle of the automotive industry in Central Europe. From bicycle production to the first automobiles, through Porsche and Volkswagen, there is a continuous thread deeply rooted in Sudeten German and Bohemian traditions.
From Bicycles to Industry
It all began with the bicycle. Companies such as Premier Works in Eger (Cheb) (1893) and the ES-KA brand show that Bohemia was already a center of bicycle production by the late 19th century. This industry laid the foundations for later developments in motorcycle and automobile manufacturing.
Laurin & Klement also began in 1895 in Jungbunzlau (Mladá Boleslav) with bicycles, before moving on to motorcycles and, in 1905, automobiles. Václav Laurin, the technician, and Václav Klement, the entrepreneur, created one of Central Europe’s first successful cars, the Voiturette A. These pioneering achievements epitomize the entrepreneurial spirit of the region.
Motorcycles and Early Automobiles
At the same time, motorcycle production was developing. A special highlight of the exhibition is the bright yellow-and-red Böhmerland motorcycle by Albin Hugo Liebisch. Symbolizing Bohemia’s innovative power, this was an extremely long motorcycle with space for several passengers, a technical curiosity and a showpiece of its era.
The exhibition also commemorates Theodor von Liebieg, who in 1894 undertook a 939-kilometer automobile road trip from Reichenberg (Liberec). This journey demonstrated the everyday practicality of the new mode of transport and helped promote the automotive industry in Bohemia.
From Laurin & Klement to Škoda
After the First World War, the markets changed. Laurin & Klement merged in 1925 with the engineering conglomerate Škoda from Pilsen (Plzeň). Škoda brought modern assembly-line production to the company, making it internationally competitive. The first Škoda models such as the 4R and 6R still carried both names.
The industrial foundation for this success was laid by Emil von Škoda (1839–1900). As founder of the largest engineering and armaments group in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy, he played a decisive role in making the region an industrial powerhouse.
Willibald Gatter and the “People’s Car”
Another fascinating figure is Willibald Gatter from Hühnerwasser (Kuřívody). He dreamed of an affordable car for everyone and, in 1926, built the first prototype of his “Little Gatter.” The vehicle was lightweight, economical, and intended for the wider population, a concept that decades later became a worldwide success with the VW Beetle.
At the exhibition opening on August 17, Willibald Gatter’s descendants had travelled from afar: his son Wulf Gatter, his grandson Peer Gatter, and his great-granddaughter Lea Gatter.
Unfortunately, the Gatter Autowerk GmbH was forced to close in 1936 due to the Great Depression. Nevertheless, Gatter remains remembered as a visionary whose ideas were ahead of their time.
Ferdinand Porsche
A highlight of the exhibition is the life story of Ferdinand Porsche (1875–1951). Born in Maffersdorf (Vratislavice nad Nisou), he showed an early passion for electricity. As early as 1900, he developed the first electric car with wheel-hub motors for Ludwig Lohner in Vienna, a milestone in the history of technology.
Porsche continued experimenting with hybrid drives before founding his own design office in 1931. There, in 1934, he created the “KdF-Wagen” on behalf of the Nazi regime, which later became known as the VW Beetle. During the Nazi era, Porsche was also involved in arms production, a fact that the exhibition addresses critically.
After the war, Porsche set new standards in sports car manufacturing with the Porsche 356. This elegant vehicle, built in 1948 in Gmünd (Austria), is considered the beginning of the Porsche tradition.
The VW Beetle and the Economic Miracle
The VW Beetle, designed by Porsche, went into mass production in Wolfsburg in 1946 and became a symbol of Germany’s post-war economic miracle. With over 21 million units sold, it remains one of the most-produced cars in history. Advertisements such as “He’s part of the family” shaped the Beetle’s image as a reliable everyday car for everyone.
In 1974, the VW Golf replaced the Beetle, but the myth of the “people’s car” a concept pioneered decades earlier by Ferdinand Porsche and Willibald Gatter remained alive.
Sudeten German and Bohemian Roots
The exhibition impressively demonstrates how many significant figures and companies in automotive history come from Bohemia and the Sudetenland. Names such as Laurin, Klement, Škoda, Gatter, and Porsche stand not only for technical innovation but also for the region’s industrial and cultural diversity.
Bohemia was a melting pot where German, Czech, and Jewish entrepreneurs, engineers, and workers collaborated. This European dimension is still evident today, Škoda has been part of the Volkswagen Group since 2000, and Porsche has also been majority-owned by VW since 2012.
European History You Can Touch
Visitors to the exhibition “Ferdinand Porsche and Other Pioneers. Trailblazers of Mobility from Bohemia and Moravia” immerse themselves in the history of a region that more than almost any other stands for industrial modernity. From the bicycles of Premier Works, through the motorcycles of Böhmerland and the automobiles of Laurin & Klement, to Porsche and VW, everything is interconnected and rooted in Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia.
The exhibition makes it clear that automotive history is much more than mere technology. It tells the story of people, visions, and cultural interconnections that continue to shape and enrich Europe to this day. I was especially pleased to see that all descriptions were not only in German and English but also in Czech. This is a clear sign of how bridges can be built between Germans and Czechs.
Deutsch https://www.henryertner.com/ferdinand-porsche-sudetendeutsche-wurzeln-der-automobilindustrie/
