Autopodnik gate

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Advertisement for Gatter's “Volksauto” from 1931

The Gatter Autowerk Reichstadt (also called "Gatter Autopodnik Zákupy" or Autopodnik Gatter in Czech ) was a manufacturer of automobiles from Zákupy (the former Reichstadt) in northern Bohemia . At that time the area belonged to Czechoslovakia . The car factory was founded in 1930 and existed until April 1937. There are contradicting information about the number of vehicles built. If some authors name around 40 vehicles on the basis of registration statistics, other researchers assume that up to 1650 vehicles were produced on the basis of tax data.

prehistory

Signed portrait by Willibald Gatter, Vienna 1924
Signed portrait by Willibald Gatter, Vienna 1924

Willibald Gatter , who previously worked at Austro-Daimler , designed a prototype of a “people's car” between 1925 and 1929 as the technical director of the new automotive division of Georgschicht AG in Aussig / Elbe , which was presented to the public for the first time in 1928. But the Great Depression in 1929 put an end to plans to start series production there.

Gate Autowerk Reichstadt

On November 22, 1929, Willibald Gatter applied for the construction of a production hall in Zákupy (German Reichstadt) and on September 13, 1930 he was finally granted the commercial license for the "production of motor vehicles in building NC 126 in Reichstadt-Vorstadt". The commemorative book of the city of Reichstadt noted with the date 1929 "Mr. Engineer Willi Gatter from Hühnerwasser ... intends to manufacture automobiles of smaller types in a single version and at significantly cheaper prices." Production began in October 1930. At the end of 1931 the first production hall had become too small. Gatter acquired the adjacent parcel in January 1932 and built a large factory building here. The original factory building was converted into a maintenance hall for gate wagons that were already running. The German company initially called itself "Gatter Fahrzeugbau Reichstadt" (translated as "Gatter Autopodnik Zákupy" in Czech advertising brochures from 1930/31). From 1932 at the latest, the company was called "Gatter Autowerk Reichstadt" (translated in Czech as "Gatter Auto Zákupy").

Advertising brochure for the Gatter car from 1932
Advertising brochure for the Gatter car from 1932

The economic crisis, which increasingly gripped Czechoslovakia in the 1930s, also left its mark on the Gatter car factory. Gatter's most important clientele quickly became impoverished. Due to increasing hostility between Czechs and Germans, the Czech group of buyers also dropped out as customers in the mid- 1930s . For a while, the plant was able to keep itself alive by producing commercial vehicles, such as small trucks and delivery vans, and repairing gate wagons that were already in operation. In 1937 the Gatter car factory was forced to close.

vehicles

An advertising brochure for the Gatter car from 1934
An advertising brochure for the Gatter car from 1934

The first car was a purely purpose vehicle. Under the sheet steel body of the 9-hp vehicle was a light but stable wooden frame that enabled the small car to reach a top speed of 60 km / h. The car was 2.60 meters long. The engine was air-cooled with two fans, had a manual starter and offered space for two people with luggage. The vehicle has two forward gears, but has not yet had a reverse gear. While early models still had a two-stroke engine from Villiers Ltd , Gatter developed its own engines from 1932 onwards, which were cast by Julius Winkler in Warnsdorf, a foundry and fittings factory.

From 1932 onwards, the body was also made more elegant and the previously steep windshield was now slightly aerodynamically tilted backwards. The seats of the 1932 model were covered with hard-wearing corduroy, on request the car could be equipped with an additional protective cover for the seats and inner walls, which was attached with press studs and could thus be easily removed for washing. This type of car had only one door that was attached to the passenger side. At the time, gallantry finally demanded a door for the female passenger, while the driver himself, sportily swung out of the car, or less sportily, could get out on the passenger side. Models from 1933 on were then equipped with an additional driver's door, which is likely to have met the customer's request.

From 1932 four-seaters with hatchbacks and an externally accessible trunk were produced. All models from 1933 were also equipped with a reverse gear as standard. This offered more driving comfort and safety. In 1933 the gate wagons reached a speed of 75 km / h with their 10 HP.

Undercarriage of the gate car.  Inside of an advertising brochure from 1934
Undercarriage of the gate car. Inside of an advertising brochure from 1934

Today, the vehicle is considered to be one of the first Volkswagens due to its easy handling and low purchase price. The gate car was therefore also known in the 1930s as the "car at a motorcycle price" or simply as the "Gatter Volksauto".

On the basis of tax payments by the car factory, it can be assumed that around 1650 "small gate" vehicles will be produced. For example, Šuman-Hreblay names eight cars produced in 1930. In 1931 there were already 203 vehicles and in 1932 479 vehicles left the plant in Reichstadt. In 1933, production reached its peak with 631 vehicles. However, from 1934 onwards, demand fell sharply and only 224 cars were sold. In 1935 there were still 87 cars and in 1936 just 21 cars left the factory.

Races

Successes were gold medals at the Bohemian hill climb and the Giant and Jizera Mountains Tour , and class victories at the Great Mountain Prize of Germany , the Black Forest Destination Tour and the Tatra Rally .

In 1931 Gatter competed in the Great Mountain Prize of Germany on the Schauinsland with one of his vehicles. He mastered the 720-kilometer-long race track with 350 cm³ in 17:38 hours and an average speed of 40.7 km / h. With an eleventh place, Gatter moved to the award ceremony in Freiburg on July 26, 1931. Before that he came from Prague in 5th place at the finish of the race.

Representations

In 1931 Gatter automobile dealerships were already in Komotau, Böhmisch Leipa, Gablonz, Prague and in the neighboring German territories, for example in Weiden and Regensburg in Bavaria, and in Chemnitz and Dresden in Saxony.

Present stock

Today there is probably only one gate car. It is a 1932 four-seater with reverse gear and chain drive. The car and motorcycle enthusiast Jiří Beran from Český Dub found the vehicle in a barn in Jičín in the 1970s and restored it. The vehicle was temporarily exhibited in the car museum in Vratislavice nad Nisou .

Honor

Czech gate badge from 2006
Czech gate badge from 2006 for Willibald Gatters "Lidového Auta"

In December 2006, on the eightieth anniversary of the car factory and the 110th birthday of its builder, the car was honored in the Czech Republic with a commemorative plaque as "Lidového Auta"; as the first “people's car” built in series.

literature

  • Volkswagen construction on the Elbe and Teck. From the life of the Sudeten German automobile pioneer and politician Willibald Gatter (1896–1973), series Stadtarchiv Kirchheim unter Teck, 2007, vol. 32, pp. 127–170.
  • Probouzející se Ralsko, Sdružení Náhlov v oblasti Ralsko, 2005, pp. 49–54
  • Car pioneers - Czechs honor Willibald Gatter with a commemorative plaque as the inventor of the Volkswagen, Der Teckbote 28 Dec. 2006, p. 18.
  • Willy Gatter: Neither capitalism nor communism - Europe's liberal socialism , Kirchheim unter Teck 1973.
  • Willy Gatter: European Program of the Liberal Socialist Party of Germany , 1954. * Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 .
  • Marián Šuman-Hreblay: Encyclopedie automobilů. České a slovenské osobní automobily od roku 1815 do současnosti. Computer Press, Brno 2007, ISBN 978-80-251-1587-9 . (Czech)
  • Marián Šuman-Hreblay: Gatter - priekopník lúdovéhu automobilu In: Veterán.SK , 3/2010, pp. 52–54.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Výroba automobilů gate v Zakupech In: Bezdez, Vlastivědný Sborník Českolipská . No. 9, 2000, pp. 177-205 (Miroslav Sovadina). With a German summary on pp. 193–194 and part of the picture pp. 195–205.
  2. Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The International Automobile Encyclopedia . United Soft Media Verlag, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-8032-9876-8 .
  3. Jump up Gatter - priekopník lúdovéhu automobilu Marián Šuman-Hreblay, In: Veterán.SK . 3/2010, pp. 52-54
  4. ^ Volkswagenbau an Elbe and Teck - From the life of the Sudeten German automobile pioneer and politician Willibald Gatter (1896–1973) In: Stadtarchiv Kirchheim unter Teck , Volume 32 (2008), p. 142, GO Druck Media Verlag, Kirchheim unter Teck, ISBN 978-3-925589-44-7 .
  5. ^ Commemorative Book of the City of Reichstadt p. 143, AM Zákupy: Archive mesta Zákupy, fund v SOkA Česka Lipa (District Archive Česka Lipa).
  6. Jump up Gatter - priekopník lúdovéhu automobilu Marián Šuman-Hreblay, In: Veterán.SK . 3/2010, pp. 52-54
  7. O nevydareném díteti . In: Auto & Moto Veterán , 1984, pp. 12–13 by Jan Kralik and Jiri Wagner
  8. Car pioneer - Czechs honor Willibald Gatter as the inventor of the "Volkswagen" with a commemorative plaque . In: Der Teckbote , Dec. 28, 2007, p. 18