Kostelní 42, Prague 7, Czech Republic

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Bicycles

Augustin Vondřich laid the foundations for the NTM’s comprehensive collection of bicycles. This leading personality of our cycling culture in the first half of the 20th century donated his extraordinary bicycle collection, as well as some extremely rare motorcycles, to the museum. Augustin was a cousin of Václav Vondřich (1874–1943), a famous motorcycle racer, the winner of the 1905 International Cup race, and the unofficial world championship from the race held at the French circuit of Dourdan. Václav started as a youngster on a penny-farthing. Already in 1931, Vondřich tried to negotiate with NTM through the Czechoslovak Central Union of Velocipedists about the possibility of making his collection available. With regard to the spatial possibilities at the time this was impossible, the exhibition was expected to take place only once the intended new building had been finished.

Due to the dramatic events in the first half of the 1940s, the collection was not placed in the completed museum building in Letná, because it was taken over by the German occupying power. It was therefore temporarily installed in the south wing of Invalidovna in Karlin. This happened in 1943 on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of organised cycling in the Czech lands - the founding of the Czech Central Union of Velocipedists (1883).

After the NTM building was partially vacated following the war, Vondřich's cycling collection entered the museum premises in 1948 as the first collection from the field of transportation. Since the beginning of the nineties, it has been supplemented with some important exhibition pieces — for example, the draisine or the track bicycle of the Olympic champion Jiří Daler. Many of them have undergone sensitive restorations. Today, the collection captures the complete development of this means of transport and sporting equipment, moreover in regard to domestic events. Its comprehensiveness and importance goes beyond the borders of the country and ranks among the best in Europe.