Pütnitz Museum of Technology

The small town of Ribnitz-Damgarten on the Baltic coast has a heritagein the early aircraft industry that began in 1934 with the relocation there of the Walther Bachmann aircraft factory. This specialised in sea-planes and tested them on Lake Ribnitz. At the same time, the Luftwaffe built an airfield on the lakeside west of the Pütnitz estate, where aircraft were repaired and pilots were trained in flying boats and other aircraft. Soviet armed forces were based there from 1954 to 1991.

The museum is on the airfield, housed mainly in impressive reinforced concrete aircraft hangers. It specialises in the vehicles of the Communist era. The three main halls are divided into subject areas: the first for military wheeled vehicles, the second for civilian cars, motorcycles and lorries and the third for military tracked vehicles and aircraft and an exhibition about model-making. Many of these vehicles can be watched in operation around the site. There are also some railway vehicles, a patrol boat and agricultural vehicles.