History

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Dear Motorcycle Lovers,
dear guests of our motorcycle town Zschopau,

I would be delighted to welcome you at the exhibition "Motorcycle Dreams" in the historical building of Wildeck Castle. Our town, once birthplace and stronghold of the manufacture of motorcycles in Germany, is proud to present you with such a beautiful and representative part of the history of the two-stroke engine production.

Nobody could imagine what the future would bring to this place and which masterpieces would be developed, when Jörgen Skafte Rasmussen founded his engineering factory in the Dischau valley  in 1907:

1915 the construction of a steam-driven car under the label of DKW (German: Dampfkraftwagen, lit. steam-driven car), the two-stroke engine for toys "The Boy's Desire" in 1918 and its development into the motor-supported bicycle "The Small Wonder".

The factory had its finest hour in 1922, when the first two-stroke engine was produced. It was the beginning of a tradition of a car which is more than a vehicle to its owners, rather it is a philosophy and a passion connecting its followers.

The output of 60.000 bikes in 1929 or 92.000 in 1975 had the factory grow temporarily to the biggest motorcycle factory in the world. Furthermore, the motorcycles were also well-known for their success in several sport events which reached its height with the victories of the Six-Day-Races 1963-67/ 1969 and 1987.

A selection of different exhibits offers interested visitors the opportunity to learn about the history of the motorcycle and all the people connected to it who are said to have "petrol" in their veins.

By now, many things have changed and the factory does not exist any longer. Nonetheless, even today many people closely connect the town and the development of motorcycles. Today, MZ (German: Motorradwerk Zschopau, lit. Motorcycle Factory Zschopau) made its own history. Thus, I think it is tremendously important that this tradition is kept alive in our region with all those people still being keen on motorsports.

At this point, I also want to take the chance and say thank you to all those people who contributed to the success of this "dream-like" exhibition with their engagement, ideas and their loan of objects.

Klaus Baumann
Mayor of Zschopau