Skoda’s 130-Year Journey Through the Eyes of Historic L&K Windows

Discover how century-old windows from Skoda's Laurin & Klement HQ witnessed fire, wars, and political change. Preserved today as museum artifacts.

As Skoda celebrates its 130th anniversary, the company is turning to its archives to highlight objects that speak volumes about its journey. One of the most compelling artifacts is a set of original windowpanes from the Laurin & Klement administrative building in Mladá Boleslav—windows that have withstood fire, wars, and sweeping political changes.

Constructed in 1911, the building symbolized the rise of Laurin & Klement, then the largest car manufacturer in Austria-Hungary. Rapid expansion demanded a new office space, and with it came intricately etched glass windows featuring the L&K logo. Embodying Art Nouveau elegance, these windows captured the essence of the Belle Époque—a time of progress and refinement.

But history would not leave them untouched. A fire in 1924 damaged the building, and just a year later, the merger with Plzeň-based Skoda provided the resources for restoration. The same windows endured the Soviet bombing of Mladá Boleslav on May 9, 1945—ironically a day after Nazi Germany’s surrender. Over the next decades, they looked out on a country under socialism, saw political slogans replace architectural flourishes, and remained even during the 1968 invasion by Warsaw Pact forces.

Although the building’s exterior changed with the times, the windows persisted. It wasn't until a major renovation in the mid-1990s that they were carefully removed and preserved. Today, they reside in Skoda’s museum archive—a silent testament to the company’s endurance and the country's evolving identity.

The building stopped serving as Skoda’s headquarters in 1974. Now it welcomes new employees as an administrative site where they receive their ID cards. Yet its historical weight remains, thanks in no small part to the enduring presence—now symbolic—of those once-functional glass panes.

Source: skoda-storyboard.com