This illuminating museum in Dresden unites five modes of transport under one roof, including exhibitions on railways and urban transport systems. Authentic exhibits, true-to-life models and informative displays provide a snapshot of motor vehicles and bicycles down the ages. The museum is closed on Mondays (except Easter Monday and Whitsun). General and themed guided tours are available to suit all ages. Please book in advance.

Dresden Transport Museum, founded in 1952, is in the Johanneum, a former Electoral coachhouse and stable building in the heart of the old quarter. This museum has one of the oldest transport collections in Germany (dating back to 1877), with special focus on Saxony and eastern Germany.

Where the Electors parked their horse and carriage

The Transport Museum's magnificent backdrop is the Johanneum, a Renaissance building (1586) where the Electors of Saxony used to "park" their horses and carriages more than 400 years ago. If it has wheels, flies or floats, visitors can see it here – locomotives, trams, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles – everything, in fact, which "moves" people in the truest sense of the word. The exhibition presents developments and state-of-the-art technology in railways, local public transport, motoring, aviation, inland and maritime navigation. It is one of the few museums in Germany to include all modes of transport except space travel.

Visiting the Transport Museum at the Johanneum is like stepping into another world. Its unparalleled collection includes historical examples from pre-industrial eras, post-1850 vehicles and unique exhibits with special historical significance - from delicate miniatures to colossal originals such as the legendary Saxon "Muldenthal" locomotive (1861). A sedan chair dating from 1705, the museum's oldest exhibit, and a horse-drawn bus are milestones in the history of public transportation in Dresden. Few classic cars fans will have seen a Saporoshez SAS 865A before, a car sold in the GDR in the 1960s. Then there is the petrol-driven Daimler "riding car", the first motorcycle in the world (1855). Besides the history of the motorcycle, the museum also chronicles the history of aviation from the hot air balloon to the supersonic airliner.