Attractive exhibition at the National Technical Museum in Prague is dedicated to one of the motorcycle legends

PRAGUE - The National Technical Museum has opened a unique exhibition dedicated to one of the motorcycle legends known as Bohemia-Böhmerland, which was prepared on the occasion of the centenary of the start of production of these motorcycles.

These exceptional machines, considered the longest mass-produced motorcycles in the world, were built in 1925 in the northern Bohemia in the town of Krásná Lípa under the direction of the designer Albin Liebisch. The exhibition, which will be appreciated not only by motorcyclists, will offer the first comprehensive overview of all types produced. Visitors will see thirty motorcycles of the Čechie-Böhmerland brand, including unique replicas of unpreserved prototypes.

Liebisch's original intention was to produce a family motorcycle for three to four people for trips and excursions. Hence the length. But the business plan didn't work out due to lack of customer interest. So he looked for an alternative. This was to offer machines for the gendarmerie and then the army. But a serious technical shortcoming prevented a successful sale. Because of its length, the bike's agility in curves and terrain was greatly reduced, which was a problem especially to the gendarmerie, which required the action of a machine carrying three policemen.

However, this does not change the fact that the unique invention of Albin Liebisch and the town of Krásná Lípa in the Šluknov foothills are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of the unique machine. Krásná Lípa, as the constructor's home town, has paid tribute to Liebisch through the Local Information Centre by exhibiting a series of information blocks on the square, where a bust of the constructor is placed on one of the houses, under which an international meeting of Czech motorcycle owners is traditionally held every year at the end of August with a ride through the region. They include people from many countries, including Australia. This year, as part of the celebrations of the Day of Bohemian Switzerland, the twenty-seventh edition of the meeting was held in Krásná Lípa. On this occasion, posters are issued, which have also become a collector's item.

From Krásná Lípa to Prague

Let us now give the floor to the Director General of the National Technical Museum, Karel Ksander, who told journalists at the opening of the exhibition: „The exhibition will introduce visitors to thirty completely unique and highly collectible motorcycles from Bohemia-Böhmerland. These machines have never been presented in this scale and quantity before.“

„For example, the motorcycle on loan from the Dresden Museum is remarkable because it is a machine with a completely documented history. In 1935, it was bought by a police constable from Nejdek who was deported to Germany after the war, but managed to get his favourite Böhmerland there. A third of the motorcycles on display come from foreign collections. Most of them are from Austria by Ewald Schoissengeier. This lover of Bohemia-Böhmerland has rebuilt their unpreserved prototypes,“ said Arnošt Nezmeškal, the author of the exhibition and director of the NTM Transport Museum.

„Albin Hugo Liebisch's basic ambition was to produce a reliable, comfortable and safe machine for the broken roads of Czechoslovakia, which would take the more adventurous owner across the Alps to the South Seas. The designer considered himself a technical innovator and a visionary, a lone dancer, a Prometheus who gave mankind the ideal machine and had to endure the sneers of stodgy traditionalists for it,“ explained Jan Němec, co-author of the exhibition and director of the State District Archive in Děčín.

Collector's hit is a four-seater machine

Until the beginning of the war, approximately 750 of these motorcycles were built, characterized by their unusual design and appearance. Already at the time of their creation, they were a rarity, and over time the motorcycles of Bohemia-Böhmerland became one of the most sought-after historic vehicles. The exhibition traces the history of these motorcycles and presents all the types produced. In addition to the original preserved machines, newly restored copies of the unpreserved prototypes of the motorcycles of this brand are also exhibited for the first time ever.

For example, the two-cylinder seven-cylinder model Sudet or perfect copies of the four-seater Bohemia-Böhmerland, indeed the longest motorcycle in the world. The demise of the company, the exile of its founder to Germany and his futile attempts to revive production in Bavaria will also be recalled. The history of this brand includes the extraordinary interest of collectors in the machines of Čechie-Böhmerland or the establishment of the Čechie-Böhmerland Club, which organizes an annual meeting of these motorcycles.

You know that...

... Albin Hugo Liebich, Czech-German engineer and entrepreneur, was born in 1888 in Rumburk and died in 1956 in Passau? He moved to Krásná Lípa with his family in 1884, where he worked in Alfred Hielle's workshop in the early 1920s. From 1925 onwards he produced unique motorcycles in his workshop in Krásná Lípa for the Czech market under the name Čechie, and for the German market Bỏhmerland. The basic version measured 3.11 metres, as the motorcycle was intended to be an alternative for cars.

Initially, he produced motorcycles of five basic types on order, in 1931 he switched to serial production in Kunratice near Cvikov. Among other things, Liebich holds the first prize for cast wheels for motorcycles, which he was the first in the world to produce. His activities ended in 1939 in connection with the occupation of the Republic. The exhibition „Böhmerland or Bohemia, or the World's Longest Motorcycle“ will be held from 7 November 2025 to 22 March 2026.

Ivan Cerny