1. Berlin GDR motorcycle museum
The 1st Berlin GDR Motorcycle Museum is a museum for two-wheelers from the German Democratic Republic in Berlin under the S-Bahn arches between Alexanderplatz and Hackescher Markt. It was opened on September 27, 2008 and has since presented over 130 motorcycles, scooters and mopeds from the manufacturers MZ , Simson , IWL and EMW / BMW on an area of around 800 square meters .
Museum building
The museum is located in the S-Bahn arches on historical ground; during the construction work, the old Markthallenstrasse with granite curbs and floor tiles by Villeroy & Boch from around 1897 was exposed.
Permanent exhibition
More than 130 motorcycles, scooters and mopeds from the manufacturers MZ, Simson and IWL and thus almost the entire range of two-wheeler production in the GDR are exhibited on an area of around 800 square meters over 2 floors. In addition to the basic models, the collection includes many teams, sports and racing machines, special and government vehicles, as well as conversions and self-builds of various models.
Many exhibits from IFA / MZ with the types RT , BK , ES , ETS , TS and ETZ as well as the scooters from IWL with the types Pitty , Wiesel , Berlin and Troll are on display in the museum. The museum also offers motorcycles, mopeds and mokicks from Simson / Suhl such as AWO 425 T and S , SR1 and SR2 and the Suhl bird series , such as the Simson Schwalbe , Mopeds and S50 , S51 , the EMW R 35 from Eisenach and many others, such as an MZ escort motorcycle of the Honecker era with a GDR emblem on the fairing. There were only 60 of these machines in total, and only a few of them have survived. Other rarities are three DKW and IFA racing machines with 125 and 150 cm³ respectively, one of them with a charge pump.
Documentation about the motorcycle factories in the GDR, diagrams, films, videos, DVDs, postcards and books, posters and diagrams from the time of the exhibited motorcycles complete the exhibition.
Special exhibitions
From December 2010 to December 2011 the special exhibition "GDR Camping - Trabant and more" took place.
In the special exhibition, camping and leisure situations were simulated. For example, a Trabant with a camping trailer and awning that was fully equipped with original utensils could be admired. In addition, the rooftop tent popularly known as “Pension Sachsenruh”, known from the film “ Go Trabi Go ”, could be admired.
The construction made of steel pipes and tarpaulin, which a resourceful person thought up and built in the 1970s, was mounted on the Trabi and was the ideal overnight accommodation option for those on a tight budget.
There was also the very popular and sought-after travel double RZ85, a folding boat from the Pouch company, which produced camping accessories such as tents, rucksacks and of course folding boats as early as the GDR era . As an additional drive, a bottlenose dolphin side board engine is installed, which did its work on many boats.
There were also many exhibits from everyday life in the GDR, cameras, radios , pocket calculators , care products, detergents and lots of toys from the GDR .
In 2010 a Trabant exhibition took place in the Berlin Carré in cooperation with the 1st Berlin GDR motorcycle museum.
The special exhibition has been closed since the end of December 2011.
Web links
Coordinates: 52 ° 31 '23.2 " N , 13 ° 24' 27.6" E