Museum of Technology and Communications

Szczecin, a city of some 400,000 people, is the capital of the Polish province of Western Pomerania, and a major seaport. Until the Second World War it was the German city of Stettin, and the principal port for Berlin. The main themes of the Museum of Technology and Communications relate to road transport. The museum occupies a former depot for street trams, and amongst its prized exhibits are eight tramcars once used in the city network which opened in 1897, including one built in Bremen in 1927. Stettin was an important centre for motor car manufacturing in the first half of the twentieth century. The principal company was Gebrüder Stoewer, Fabrik für Motorhahrzeugen founded in 1899 by Emil (1873-1942) and Bernhard (1875-1937) Stoewer, who had previously manufactured sewing machines. They brought out the very successful Stoewer G4 in 1908. The company produced some elegant motor cars in the 1920s, and in 1931 made an innovative four-wheel drive vehicle, but suffered from the depression of the early 1930s. Subsequently Stoewer designed and manufactured the LEPKW, a light, off-road truck for the Wehrmacht. The factory was closed and its machinery transported to the USSR at the end of the Second World War. The museum displays a variety of Stoewer motor vehicles as well as examples of those built in the city during the years of the People’s Republic of Poland. There are some sophisticated interactive displays and the museum is the venue for many cultural events.