Branches
Road Transport Exhibition I.
The permanent exhibition introduces visitors to the development of road and rail transport in Slovakia since the second half of the 19th century. The exhibition presents a variety of different types of motorized and non-motorized means of transport used in the past to transport people and cargo, from the simplest ones, which include historical velocipedes, bicycles or baby carriages, through motorcycles and tricycles, to cars mainly from the interwar period. The history of one of the oldest and most popular means of transport – the bicycle, which is still gaining its fans today, is presented by the oldest types of velocipedes with a large wheel from the late 19th century, as well as one of the first bicycles with a cross frame and rear wheel drive from the German brand Brennabor from 1888. These are followed by a wide range of more modern types produced during the 20th century, including Czechoslovak products from the brands Stadion, Velamos, Liberta, Favorit and Eska, including the popular "skladacka".
The exhibition of horse-drawn vehicles is very interesting, in which you can find a classic carriage for transporting people, a team sleigh from the late 19th century used to transport people in the winter, but also, for example, a historic hearse. This part of the exhibition is currently dominated by a collection of historical firefighting equipment from the late 19th and first half of the 20th century, used in the past to fight fires in the village of Vrakuňa, which is now part of Bratislava.
The history of one of the oldest and most popular means of transport – the bicycle, which is still gaining its fans today, is presented by the oldest types of velocipedes with a large wheel from the late 19th century, as well as one of the first bicycles with a cross frame and rear wheel drive from the German brand Brennabor from 1888. These are followed by a wide range of more modern types produced during the 20th century, including Czechoslovak products from the brands Stadion, Velamos, Liberta, Favorit and Eska, including the popular "skladacka".
In 2018, a cabinet of curiosities was added to the exhibition in Hall A.
More than twenty historical motorcycles show visitors the development of this type of vehicle. There are foreign-made motorcycles from the interwar period, the oldest of which (the French Terrot or the American Indian Chief) come from the 1920s. Among the exhibits from the post-war period, visitors can find mainly popular Czechoslovak motorcycles, mopeds and scooters of the ČZ, Jawa, Babetta and Tatran brands. Another interesting feature is the Indian racing lead motorcycle from 1932, exhibited with a specially modified Favorit bicycle, which was used in cyclist races behind motorcyclists on a banked track.
The exhibition also does not forget about vehicles intended for the transport of severely disabled people, including the Meyra tricycle, patented as an aid for war veterans, or the well-known "hadraplán" - the Czechoslovak Velorex motor tricycle with a leatherette body.
The historic cars exhibited in this exhibition come mainly from the interwar period. In addition to typical representatives of this period, which include the Tatra 57, Škoda Popular or Praga Picollo, you can also find unique items, such as the American Buick from 1913 or the Škoda 860, with which the Mladá Boleslav car manufacturer tried to compete with manufacturers of luxury limousines. A rare exhibit is one of the largest and most expensive interwar cars of Czechoslovak production, the six-cylinder Praga Golden from 1937, which is in a pre-renovation state and is part of a diorama of a period car workshop equipped with period tools.
A unique atmosphere is added to this exhibition by a number of smaller objects reminiscent of the history of road transport in our territory, which, in addition to various components of historical cars and motorcycles, include period advertising posters and signs, canisters and other containers for storing engine operating fluids, or historical fuel dispensers from petrol pumps.
Railway Transport Exhibition
The locomotives of the first railways in Slovakia had a simple design with a two-cylinder steam engine, an axle arrangement most often 1 B or 1 C, and no driver's cab. In later years, steam locomotives were modernized (new drive arrangement, use of split expansion and later superheated steam). In the 20th century, steam locomotives began to be supplemented and, from the 1960s, replaced by diesel and electric traction locomotives. The construction of the first carriages, whether passenger or freight, was still wooden; in the 20th century they were replaced with an all-metal construction. Individual heating in passenger cars was replaced by heating with steam from the locomotive.
Railway security technology is part of railway transport and has been developed and used in Slovakia since the beginning of the use of rolling stock. The first security devices were mechanical (boards, flags, bells, etc.), later they began to be replaced by electrical ones. Our museum exhibits various signals as well as signaling technology. One of the preserved signals is the distance signal, which marked an advance in the signal system. An interesting part of this exhibition is also a functional demonstration of a centrally controlled clock system (so-called unified time). It presents the most widespread and some now unique types of Czechoslovak-made electric sub-clocks of the Chronotechna, Elektročas and Pragotron brands, dating from the 1950s to the 1980s, which were used to display the time at railway stations and other railway operational facilities. The dominant element of this system is a large clock tower from the second half of the 1980s.
Road Transport Exhibition II.
The exhibition presents the massive development of motoring in the territory of the former Czechoslovakia in the period after World War II. The composition of the passenger car fleet on our roads is illustrated by a collection of post-war Škoda cars, which represents an almost complete development series including the Škoda 1101 Tudor and the Škoda Octavia, followed by a series of popular "embéčky" with an engine in the back (Škoda 1000 MB De Luxe, Škoda 100, Škoda 105 L, Škoda 125 L) and ending with the Škoda Favorit from 1988, which is one of the first cars of this type produced.
Foreign cars from the so-called The collection of two-stroke engine vehicles from the former German Democratic Republic (Trabant 601 and Wartburg 353 in sedan and station wagon versions) is part of the car service diorama, which also presents period instrumentation for vehicle diagnostics. The exhibition also includes the very popular Lada 1200 based on the Italian Fiat 124, as well as the unique small Fiat 126 BIS in a lesser-known version with a water-cooled engine. Cars from Western Europe are represented by, for example, the now-defunct Simca 1300. However, visitors to this exhibition will be particularly interested in the unique prototypes of passenger cars and commercial vehicles that were designed and manufactured by motor vehicle development workers in Bratislava.
The greatest jewel of the prototype collection is the Tatra 603 MB microbus, built in the Bratislava branch of the Tatra company in 1961 with the engine of a famous luxury limousine with the same number plate, which is not found in any other museum. No less interesting are the passenger and commercial vehicles developed at the Bratislava Automobile Works (BAZ) during the 1980s, which include the first Škoda Garde coupe mass-produced at BAZ from 1982 and its innovative modification called Locusta, prototypes of the MNA 900 microbus, the MNA 1000 van developed in cooperation with the AZLK automobile plant in Moscow, and other types of vehicles that never entered mass production.
The exhibition also features several other historic commercial vehicles, including the now lesser-known Hungarian-made Csepel D 352 flatbed truck from the 1950s, as well as firefighting equipment on display - the AVIA DVS 12 (A-30) vehicle, and a Polish ŽUK in firefighting configuration, which was previously unseen in our region, which originally served in Hungary.
Water Transport and Shipbuilding Exhibition
Slovakia is historically a Danubian state and after the construction of the canal connection from 1992 lies almost in the middle of the trans-European waterway Rhine-Main-Danube, which enables inland navigation between the North and Black Seas. Therefore, water transport and shipbuilding have a very long and rich tradition in this region. In this context, ship operation, service and construction represent a distinctive and advanced economic sector that deserves exceptional attention.
STM - Museum of Transport is interested in creating a specific and unique exhibition in the Bratislava Winter Port, where not only the history, but also the perspective and promotion of ecological water transport would be presented in a high-quality manner. Currently, the topic of water transport and shipbuilding is documented in the museum premises with a wealth of visual materials, three-dimensional exhibits, and authentic models.
Playroom for kids
The STM-Museum of Transport in Bratislava has set up a space for its visitors suitable as a relaxing environment for families with children and for activities for the youngest children with toys focused on the field of transport, books and puzzles. The second part has space for smaller school groups, a classroom for educational activities, and playful, creative workshops as part of specialized programs for schools.
Exhibition hall
Motor-powered tugboat ŠTUREC (National Cultural Monument)
The history of the tugboat ŠTUREC begins in 1937, when it was built in the old Škoda Works shipyard in Komárno as a motor tanker together with two other cargo ships, VAJANSKÝ and ŠTEFAN MOYSES. It was christened on September 11, 1937 with the name ŠTÚR. It was the first of three motor tankers to be launched on the Danube. The ships were built for the shipping company Československá dunajplavba, úč. spol. In the period 1938-1945, they were used to transport mineral oils on the route between the port of Giurgiu in Romania and the port of Bratislava. In addition to transporting liquid goods, they could also tow three to six tugboats.
During the bombing of the Apollo refinery in Bratislava on June 16, 1944, the *Štúr* was partially sunk near the ship lift in the Winter Harbor. After World War II, it was moved to the old shipyard in Komárno, where it was converted into the tugboat *Šturec* between 1951 and 1952. It towed various types of barges along the entire length of the Danube. A powerful cable winch was installed on the upper deck for this purpose. In the 1950s, the vessel still utilized its original Škoda 8L305 engine, which had been designed for the *Štúr* motor tanker. A decade later, in 1962, the vessel underwent a major overhaul at the old repair shipyard of the ČSPD Bratislava shipping company; during this process, the engine was replaced with the Škoda 6L350 model, which was standard on all Dunajplavba tugboats at the time. In addition to the engine replacement, the anchor windlass was swapped for a more modern unit compatible with Hall-type anchors. (Danube-type anchors had been used on the *Štúr* motor tanker and subsequently on the *Šturec* tugboat during the 1950s.) The tugboat was retired from service in 1982 and taken over by the Slovak Water Management Enterprise (specifically, the Danube River Basin Authority). Throughout the 1980s and especially the 1990s, it was used as a storage facility for electrical installation materials.
In 2012, it was declared a movable national cultural monument, at the twelfth hour, as the last of the historic ships not to end up in the scrapyard. The tugboat came under the management of the STM-Museum of Transport in Bratislava in 2013. The ship has been under reconstruction since 2015. The initiative to save this rare historic tugboat came from former Dunajplavba employees, Juraj Bohunský and Ing. Jiří Mandl, who also contributed to ensuring that this last tugboat, which was used for towing under the Czechoslovak flag, became part of the future museum of water transport.
Technical information:
ŠTÚR
Max. length: 70.3 m
Max. width: 9 m
Draft: 0.74 m
ŠTUREC
Max. length: 56 m
Max. width: 9 m
Draft: 1.5 m
Harbor Tugboat ZVOLEN
Vessel History
The port tug ZVOLEN was built in 1955 at the national enterprise České loděnice Děčín - Křešice. The STM - Museum of Transport in Bratislava has not yet been able to obtain complete operational documentation of this vessel, which could reveal information about the first decades of its operation, and it is very likely that it has not been preserved at all. In the 1980s, the operator of this vessel was West Slovak Quarries and Gravel Sands, a national enterprise – Bratislava operation. Due to the dimensions of the vessel and the power of its main engines, this tugboat, designated ZKŠ ZVOLEN, was used to handle cargo barges only in calm water in port basins, for example in the bay of the Devín quarry. Later, the vessel came under the management of the Slovak Water Management Enterprise (*Slovenský vodohospodársky podnik, š. p.*) – Danube River Basin branch. – the branch plant Povodie Dunaja, which used it under the designation PD ZVOLEN mainly in the pools of the Bratislava port, probably until 2002, when the vessel's shipping certificate expired. In March 2022, the Slovak Technical Museum – Museum of Transport in Bratislava acquired this ship from its last operator for a scrap price.
Renovation
In October 2023, the ship was floated from the northern to the southern basin of the Winter Port to the quayside, where there was access for a truck crane and a low-loader trailer. On October 26, 2023, the Ostrava company Autojeřáby Malina performed an interesting and unconventional manipulation, in which the vessel was lifted from the water, transported a distance of approximately 300 m and then placed on prepared staple pads on a concrete surface.
In April 2024, the fouled underwater part of the shell was mechanically roughly cleaned with the help of students as part of their professional practice. In August 2025, the specialized company COLORSPOL, s.r.o., partly under sponsorship, professionally and with high quality blasting the surface of the vessel and applied a new primer and top coat. Further restoration of the tugboat will continue according to financial possibilities.
Technical Specifications
Overall length: 16.5 m
Maximum beam: 3.7 m
Maximum draft: 99 cm
Maximum displacement: 43 t
Number and type of main engines: 2 internal combustion engines, Škoda 4L 160
Total power of main engines: 132 kW
Propulsion system: 2 three-bladed propellers
We would like to thank the following for their cooperation in the rescue, renovation and presentation of the vessel:
Passenger speedboat METEOR V - BRATISLAVA
The METEOR type vessels, numbering 5, were one of three types of passenger ships on hydrofoils, so-called high-speed ships, used by the Czechoslovak, later Slovak Danube Navigation Company. Alongside them, technically similar ships of the RAKETA (3 pcs) and VOSCHOD (2 pcs) type also served on the Danube River. They were built at the Zelenodolsk plant of Maxim Gorky, located in the territory of the present-day Russian Federation (then the USSR), on the Volga River near Kazan.
METEOR-type high-speed ships transported passengers mainly on the route between Bratislava and Vienna, or Bratislava and Budapest. The ships METEOR I and METEOR II were later sold to operators from Germany and Italy, the remaining vessels were operated by the company Slovenská plavba a prístavy – Lodná obsobná preprava, a.s. s. (SPaP – LOD, a.s.) until 2019. In the following sailing seasons, they were shut down without use, mainly in connection with the measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the decision to definitively end their operation in 2022, METEOR III was scrapped at the Bratislava shipyard in Vlčí hrdl, and a foreign entity expressed interest in METEOR IV. The last ship with the designation METEOR V – BRATISLAVA was donated by the operator in September 2023 to the Slovak Technical Museum - Museum of Transport in Bratislava.
In April 2024, a demanding logistical operation took place, during which the vessel was towed in the Bratislava cargo port area to the so-called difficult location, where it was lifted by a heavy-duty crane from the pontoon on which it had been deposited since 2019, and then transferred by two truck cranes from the company Autojeřáby Malina to a prepared paved area in the area of the Bratislava Cargo Port - Pálenisko section, where it is currently deposited.
Technical Specifications
Year of construction: 1990
Maximum length: 34.5 m
Maximum width: 9.5 m
Maximum draft: 2.4 m
Draft while foilborne: 1.2 m
Vessel weight: 37 tons
Main engines: 2 x M-50 F-5
Propulsion type: 2 propellers
Power: 2 x 736 kW
Max. number of passengers: 112
Number of crew members: 4
Max. speed: 65 km/h
We would like to thank the following for their cooperation in the rescue of the vessel:
