From punchline to performer: 130 years of Skoda

We take you on a remarkable journey all the way back to the beginning

One hundred and thirty years: by any measure it’s a fair stretch. Beyond any single human’s existence, it’s a passage of time that’s hard to get your head around. 
It’s almost ancient history. So any company, organisation or institution that makes it this far deserves a pat on the back. For two to get to the same milestone at more or less the same time demands nothing less than a celebration, which is why we’re here today. 
You see, back in 1895, in a small town called Mladá Boleslav, located in what is now the Czech Republic, an enterprising bookshop owner called Václav Klement teamed up with meticulous engineer Václav Laurin to set up a factory making bicycles. 
If their surnames seem familiar, it’s because they’re now used to identify the flagship models of the car company that quickly grew out of this fledgling pushbike arm: Skoda. 
At the same time as the Václavs were bolting together their first bikes, ove