As long ago as 1960, discussions took place on the question of founding a new Museum of Transport and Technology in Berlin, and a steering committee was formed. It received government blessing in 1980, was established in 1982 and opened its first exhibition halls in 1983 in Trebbiner Strasse in the old market buildings dating from 1908. There were 1,700 sq.m/18,300 sq.ft of space over four floors, with access by means of steps formerly used by horses.
In 1985 the adjoining Transport Hall (1,300 sq.m/14,000 sq.ft) was made available to the public, and in 1987 the first locomotive shed was opened and outside space provided for the department concerned with railroads, bridge building, hydraulic engineering and shipping. A second locomotive shed was completed in 1988, giving the railroad exhibition a total floor area of 6,000 sq.m/65,000 sq.ft.
Further building took place in stages on the land formerly used for the works of the Anhalter Railway Station east of Gleisdreieck.
Its sheds, officials' houses, water tower and other buildings were repaired and refitted for use. Adjacent to these is the former Anhalter Goods Station, the 350 m/380yd-long loading track of which is flanked by two goods sheds. It is intended that this land should be made into a park, as part of the re-designing of Potsdamer Platz.
A new building on Trebbiner Strasse (Tempelhofer Ufer) to house the aviation and marine departments is planned for the long term.
A large mural by Klaus Büscher (1982) gives an idea of the overall plan.
Exhibition sectors
The MVT (as it is popularly known) intends to carry on the tradition of earlier Berlin technical museums and has possession of the more important and valuable items from the Transport and Building Museum (Verkehrs- und Baumuseum) which was opened in 1906 in the former Hamburger Railway Station on Invalidenstrasse; it remained inaccessible for over 40 years and was finally handed over by East Germany to the West Berlin Senate in 1984.
Industrial Revolution
Powered machinery, an old workshop and equipment from earlier factories.
Road Transport
Bicycles, horse-drawn carts, motor cycles, motor cars and a driving simulator.
Rail Transport
Locomotives and coaches, both originals and models, including original wagons dating from 1843 and the Imperial Gateway from the Anhalter Railway Station.
Aviation
Gliders, man-powered and engine-driven aircraft.
Automation and accounting technology
Musical and production equipment controlled by cylinders, discs and punched cards. Computer technology, including a reproduction of "Z 1", the world's first computer, constructed by Konrad Zuse in 1936.
Fields of Reasearch
Some 50 experiments on the basic principles of natural history.
Writing and Printing
Typewriters and calculators; demonstrations of printing and setting up to the present day; instruction in printing by the museum's educational section.
Hydraulic Engineering and Shipping
Brandenburg Fleet with a diorama entitled "The Electoral Shipyard in Havelberg"; carved models of wooden ships; parts of the reconstructed Kaffir punt in the "Marine Archaeology in Berlin" (Schiffs-Archäologie in Berlin) department.
Photography
History of photography; stereoscopy.
Open-air displays
Solar Heating plant.
Other sectors and activities
Other areas of interest include technology in the home and in the spheres of production, textiles and energy (mills); manufacture of luggage; special exhibitions and lectures. The scientific records cover firms and private individuals involved in the various spheres of the history of technology and transport. The specialist library has more than 50,000 volumes.
The aviation collection is currently housed in the former Hamburger Bahnhof. It contains a fine collection of German aircraft dating back to World War I with innovative displays illustrating German types and technology which no longer exist.
In particular there is a magnificent model of the large aviation museum that existed in Berlin until 1943 when it was destroyed in an air raid and the collection was dispersed.
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