Technical Museum opened an exhibition on architecture with giant models

Section dedicated to functionalism - photo: ntm.cz

Prague - The National Technical Museum in Prague (NTM) has opened its sixth exhibition hall. From today, those interested can view a model of the New Vítkovice in the second floor, one of the most significant monuments of industrial heritage in the Czech Republic, as well as a sugar factory model and a model railway. Among the exhibits is also a frame with axles and the drivetrain of a Škoda Octavia car from 1959-1964, a BMW motorbike of the Castle Guard, and a model of the truss of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. This was announced by the museum's spokesperson Olga Šámalová.
    The model of New Vítkovice measures 8.75x2.5x0.9 meters and weighs 400 kilograms. It will be on display at the museum until January 29. It is built to a scale of 1:100, and visitors will see all key objects of the Lower Vítkovice area on it. These include Blast Furnace No. 1, the energy center, gas holder, and energy center.
    "By next year, further objects will gradually be added towards the Hlubina mine and around blast furnaces No. 4 and 6," Šámalová stated.
    The very first exhibit of NTM, with inventory number 1, is a model of a sugar factory at a scale of 1:10. This unique model was created in 1908 for the exhibition of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Prague. The production of individual parts was ensured or financially supported by leading Czech engineering and other firms. After the exhibition, the model was donated to the then-emerging Technical Museum of the Kingdom of Bohemia and gained the status of its first exhibit.
    The model railway is built to a scale of 1:45 and will certainly delight young and old admirers of locomotives. The railway layout is designed as technical, with small illustrative accessories. The models are entirely made of metal, with no use of plastics. "The locomotives we selected for them operated on the railways of Central Europe from 1890 to 1970," the spokesperson added.
    In the years 1959-1964, the Škoda Octavia passenger car was produced at the car factory in Mladá Boleslav. It was the last type of personal car Škoda with a backbone frame and an engine located at the front, therefore with a construction typical for all Mladá Boleslav cars since the mid-thirties. The displayed chassis with cross-sections of components was originally made for the car manufacturer's presentations at exhibitions and fairs.
    The last model in the newly accessible hall is a school educational model of the iron truss of St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. The steel truss for the neo-Gothic completion was designed by Karel Friedrich in 1898. It was produced in the same year by the Prague Engineering Joint-Stock Company (formerly Ruston Engineering in Prague - Karlín). NTM intends to expand this exhibition with interactive exhibits and a play area for children.
    The Technical Museum in Letná was opened to the public after more than four years of reconstruction this February. In addition to the restored transportation hall with historical exhibits of automotive, motorcycle, cycling, aviation, maritime, and railway transportation in the Czech Republic, visitors can also view the Photography Studio and exhibitions on Printing, Astronomy, and Architecture, construction, and design.