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As Škoda Auto celebrates 130 years of its existence, We recall remarkable moments from the brand’s history through its archives and museum collections. This time, we revisit the extraordinary life and legacy of Václav Klement.
From a bookseller with a passion for cycling, Václav Klement rose to become one of the most prominent industrial figures of Austria-Hungary and later Czechoslovakia, laying the foundations of today’s globally successful car manufacturer. His achievements were no coincidence. Klement worked tirelessly—from five in the morning until eleven at night—and was known for his exceptional managerial skills and strong business talent. Today, we would say he had true drive and determination. He also possessed a deep sense of social responsibility.
A native of Velvary, Klement understood that his work would become part of his legacy. And that is where this lesser-known story begins. In the 1930s, as the automotive world embraced synchronized gearboxes and aerodynamic bodywork, Klement began to seek out the very first products of the company he had founded with Václav Laurin in 1895. His goal was to preserve them for future generations.
A large part of Klement’s donations is housed in the National Technical Museum in Prague. A 1935 typewritten inventory giving us an overview of the scope of the collection begins with the words: “As I informed Director Ing. Veselý on the 6th of this month in Mladá Boleslav, I am hereby donating the following items to you.”
The list includes three motorcycles—models B, BZ, and CCR—then known as motorized two-wheelers. Klement had tracked them down through former customers, sometimes even using newspaper advertisements. With these donations, he effectively established one of the oldest motorcycle museum collections in Europe, inspiring other manufacturers of the era to follow his example. Today, the museum boasts a collection of more than one hundred motorcycles.
Klement was also a devoted supporter of the National Technical Museum, to which he contributed a significant sum toward the construction of its then-new building in the 1930s. Among his other donations were a marble plaque with a bronze relief created by Jan Štursa—one of the foremost sculptors of the First Republic—commemorating Klement’s 50th birthday, and an extensive set of archival documents chronicling the factory’s history from its beginnings through the 1920s. The collection even includes Klement’s original letter to the representative of Seidel & Naumann, one of the first impulses leading to the establishment of the Mladá Boleslav factory.
The partnership between Škoda Auto and the National Technical Museum continues to this day. The most recent automotive addition, a pre-production Škoda Enyaq iV, was donated to the collection in 2021, followed in 2023 by a freight car used for transporting passenger vehicles.
130 years ago, the foundation stone for the future success of Škoda automobiles was laid in Mladá Boleslav. As part of the anniversary celebrations, a special exhibition will open on 12 December at the National Technical Museum in Prague, dedicated to the memory of Václav Klement, his role as a supporter of the museum, and his generous contributions to its collections.
The man who put Mladá Boleslav on the global automotive map demonstrated his social compassion even in his final affairs. Václav Klement passed away on August 13, 1938. His will included donations to several Mladá Boleslav associations, such as the Ladies’ and Girls’ Society, the Sokol Gymnastic Union, and the local charity for the city’s poor. He also remembered organizations from other cities, including the Komenský Society for the Support of Czechoslovak Schools Abroad, the Jedlička Institute for the Disabled in Prague, the Hradčany Institute for Blind Children, and the Seywalter Home for Blind Girls in Brandýs nad Labem.
The donations listed in this part of his will amounted to 415,000 Czechoslovak crowns. For context, in 1938 a worker earned between 600 and 1,500 crowns per month, depending on qualification. Klement’s will shows that he never forgot his humble origins and was deeply aware that not everyone starts life from the same position. He devoted particular attention to supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds. The total value of all donations in his will reached nearly 2 million Czechoslovak crowns. Václav Klement's charity work fell into oblivion after the outbreak of World War II. After the war ended, the Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia in 1948, and they were not keen to point out that even wealthy self-made men had social conscience.
On August 8, 1938, the Václav and Antonie Klement Foundation was established in Mladá Boleslav. The couple did not have children, so it was children who were foremost in their minds. Funds were established within the foundation, each with a different purpose and a different amount of money allocated to it. There were eight funds in total, and the total amount donated reached 1,350,000 Czechoslovak crowns.
Just to illustrate, let us mention three funds. The first is fund B, which was intended to support gifted students from the Velvary district, with a subsidy of CZK 100,000. Fund H was intended for the maintenance of a hospital with an amount of CZK 200,000, and the largest donation was received by the last fund, L, intended "to support poor students from the districts of Slaný, Kralupy nad Vltavou, Mělník, Mnichovo Hradiště, Turnov, Semily, Jilemnice, Nová Paka, Hořice, Jičín, Nymburk, and Poděbrady, receiving CZK 400,000, to be used as scholarships for poor students from the aforementioned districts."
Decisions about recipients were made by the Foundation’s advisory board, which also oversaw fund management. The board consisted of 14 members, with at least two-thirds required for a quorum to be reached. The foundation was also designated as the beneficiary of proceeds from the sale of Klement’s house or the repayment of any personal loans he had extended.
