Military Technical Museum of Lesany - War and Military Museums on Waymarking.com

Currently, the exposition contains over 350 historic tanks, cannons, motorcycles, armored vehicles, trucks and military passenger vehicles, manufactured in the period from 1890 up to present. The collections are presented in 8 halls, 6 roofed areas and also in the open air.

The unique part is particularly the collection of the Czechoslovak military transport vehicles from 1918 to 1939, and the collection of Škoda cannons. By the concept of the exhibition, the museum follows new trends of presentation of technical collections. From the very start, the museum has followed the pattern of British museums that set the trends in the current development of the museology. Regular replacements of the exhibits every year, their impressive presentation in motion, and the gradual improvement of the exhibition areas – all that helps the visitors better understand the issues of the Czechoslovak military technical history.

The Jewel of the Crown - The Pink Tank
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Prague's Kinsky Square was for many decades called The Square of Soviet Tank Crews. It was because a huge Soviet tank, a memorial to the liberation of Czechoslovakia in 1945, used to stand there on a 5-metre pedestal. Until one morning, in the spring of 1991, locals woke up and could not believe their eyes. The tank had turned pink overnight.

The enfant terrible of Czech visual art, David Cerny, was only 23 when he covered the green tank in pink paint making it look rather like piece of candy.

Althought his act was seen by many as an outrage against the Soviet liberators of Prague, more than a symbol of the liberation of Prague by the Red Army in May 1945 for many Czechs the tank became a reminder of the Soviet-led occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968. Three days later soldiers arrived with buckets of paint and gave the tank a new green coat. Ten days after that a group of parliament deputies leaded by former disident Jan Ruml repainted it pink again for support of David Cerny's act.

Finally the tank was taken away. Partly it was because the tank itself was a historical nonsense. It was the wrong type tank IS2, which is an infantry tank, but the first Soviet tank which came to Prague in the May 9th, 1945 was a T34 cruiser tank. The number 23 on the turret of the monument was completely different as well. Now is the pink tank kept in a Military technical museum Lesany near Prague, which was established in 1996 at area of former artillery barracks. Currently there is presented more then 350 of historic tanks, cannons, armored vehicles, military trucks, cars and motorcycles from period since 1890 till now. The range and content of muzeum´s collection rank it among the most remarkable european institution of this kind.

But that's not quite the end of the story of the pink tank. When the citizens of Bohdanec town near Pardubice celebrated the 10th anniversary of "the end of everlasting times", on memory of the last retired Soviet soldier in the 1991, David Cerny installed there a new plastic called by locals "The 10 decagrams of pink tank". There is back side of pink tank visible only, what seems like the tank slowly sinking into soil.






The museum is open during the summer season in the following hours:

In June and September, 9 AM to 5 PM (weekends only)

In July and August, 9 AM to 5 PM (Wednesday through Sunday)

Admission is free of charge.

How to get to the museum:

Car: Prague – direction Jesenice - Jílové u Prahy - Kamenný Prívoz - Prosecnice - Krhanice - Lešany
Train: Take the ride from the railway station Praha hl. n., or Praha Vršovice, or Praha Bráník, direction Týnec nad Sázavou, to the Krhanice station, and then walk 500 meters over the bridge to the museum (the popular Sázava Pacific Line goes through the picturesque valley of the Sázava River).

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