Warehouse
The former ore and refractories storage now houses an exhibition of grain processing machinery. In the late 19th century threshing machines gradually started to replace flails, and the strenuous work of manual threshing became a thing of the past. The exhibited threshing machines are powered by a variety of technologies. Firstly, there is the steam engine used in a traction engine from 1912, then the Güldner Lanova combustion engine (licenced production of Vítkovice Ironworks, 1928), and finally the electric motor used in many post-war threshing machines.
With the gradual innovations in the industry, harvesting threshers (combine harvesters) became widespread, making it possible to increase agricultural yields many times over. Blowers, straw balers, grain cleaners and, to a lesser extent, also machines for land preparation complete the display of threshing machines. The majority of exhibits currently come from Central Bohemia, but we are adding machines also from the Silesian-Moravian Region, whilst documenting the history of all exhibits.
Veronikárna
The Veronikárna hall houses an exhibition of agricultural machinery. Most of the exhibits are tractors because in the 20th century tractors represented one of the most progressively developing mechanizations of agricultural work. Since tractors were produced in most industrial countries in the world, the exhibition features machines of various brands and provenances that date back to different periods – from Fordson model F, which was launched on the market in 1917, to Škoda ŠT 180, the last pieces of which left the production lines in 1992.
We are constantly adding new items to the exhibition. Czechoslovakia is represented in the exhibition by the brands Zetor, Škoda and Svoboda motor Kosmonosy. German tractors from the interwar and wartime period are represented by the brands Deutz, Lanz Bulldog or Hanomag. Fortschritt and UTB are some of the post-war brands producing tractors for the Eastern Bloc market. The exhibition also features fodder processing machines. All machines have been cleaned, but they have not been restored to their original state. Any modification and alterations made by private owners or cooperative societies have been preserved as they give evidence about the harsh operating conditions and the times of scarcity in which this machinery was used.