Tatra Museum, Koprivnice

The works at Koprivnice were founded in 1850 building horse-drawn carriages, added railway wagons in the 1880s and made their first car, the Prasident, in 1897, which makes Tatra the third-oldest car manufacturer in the world still producing. Its engineering was distinctive from the start: a central tubular backbone chassis with swing axles, patented by Hans Ledwinka in 1923 and used ever since, and from the 1930s a series of large rear-engined air-cooled streamlined saloons designed with Paul Jaray, of which the T77 and T87 were among the most aerodynamic cars of their era. Their handling at speed had a reputation - the rear weight bias made them unforgiving, and German officers were reportedly killed in enough of them during the war that the type acquired a nickname to that effect. The museum holds around sixty vehicles including these, the trucks, prototypes and racing cars from the Dakar.

What you actually see

• The 1897 Prasident - the works' first car, in the collection.
• Backbone chassis and swing axles - Ledwinka's 1923 patent, used ever since.
• Streamlined rear-engined saloons - the T77 and T87 of the 1930s.
• Trucks and Dakar racers - the heavy vehicles the firm is now known for.

When to go

All year. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Closed Mondays. The factory itself is not open to visitors. The museum is technical in emphasis. Koprivnice is a working industrial town with little else for visitors.

Nearby

Stramberk is a few kilometres west; Pribor is north.