Škoda Auto is looking back on its 130-year company history with an extensive exhibition at the Škoda Museum in Mladá Boleslav in the Czech Republic , bringing to life important milestones and fascinating stories from its own history. The presentation includes dozens of car models, a selection of the first bicycles and motorcycles as well as an interactive map showing the development of the home plant. The exhibition also highlights 125 years of engine development and construction in Mladá Boleslav. This year, the Mladá Boleslav Museum Night on May 16, 2025 will be dedicated to the 130th anniversary of Škoda Auto.
A journey through time
130 years ago, when Laurin & Klement started their business activities in 1895, they began producing means of transportation for individual passenger transport in Mladá Boleslav. The new exhibition at the Škoda Museum captures the courage, creativity and skills of those who produced high-quality bicycles, motorcycles and pioneering automobiles for generations and exported them to every inhabited continent.
In authentic factory rooms from the time before the First World War, the exhibition shows important milestones, development stages, pioneering models and motorsport successes. It also illustrates the challenging political and economic times as well as local setbacks and global crises - and how the Czech car manufacturer survived them.
Informative text and picture panels frame a large number of impressive vehicle exhibits - from the first Slavia bicycle and the L&K B motorcycle to a variety of vehicles that culminates in the new battery-electric Škoda Elroq. A four-storey exhibition shelf displays five vehicles on each level. They tell the story from the era of the first Laurin & Klement products through the expansion of Škoda in the 1930s to the post-war years. The exhibition also provides information about the entry into the Volkswagen Group, which turned Škoda into an internationally active car manufacturer.
A special section celebrates the 125-year tradition of engine development and production in Mladá Boleslav. An interactive map shows the growth of the local plant between 1895 and 2025. Other production and assembly sites are also mentioned. In a children's corner, the car designers and developers of tomorrow can live out their creativity, while the whole family can have their picture taken in a special photo booth together with company founder Václav Klement and racing pioneer Václav Vondřich. The "130 Years of Škoda" exhibition will remain open until January 11, 2026.
Premiere after restoration: L&K Si (1918)
After an intensive restoration, guests can now experience one of the most popular Laurin & Klement models in a completely refurbished condition at the Škoda Museum: the L&K Si convertible from 1918. The vehicle on display was owned by August G. Tham, a respected order manufacturer from Jablonec nad Nisou, during the First Czechoslovak Republic.
Mladá Boleslav Museum Night
The traditional Mladá Boleslav Museum Night will focus on the celebrations of 130 years of Škoda Auto on May 16, 2025 and will take place from 18:00 to 23:00. Admission is free of charge. Visitors can look forward to guided tours of the Škoda Museum (tř. Václava Klementa 294, starting at 18:30 and 21:00) and the Depositorium (19:00 and 21:30). Visitors aged ten and over can also take part in night tours of the production halls.
