Story of the exhibit

Brought to Estonia in 1987 by the Polish restoration company Budimex or PKZ for use on their construction work in Tartu. In the early 1990s, after the Polish restorers left Estonia, it was sold into private ownership. Zuk flatbed trucks were very rare in Estonia even in Soviet times, unlike the van versions. The depositor remembers: The vehicle was brought to Estonia in 1987 by Polish restorers working on the restoration of historic buildings in Tartu. (The best-known buildings they restored are the University of Tartu Museum in the Cathedral and the "Leaning House" on Town Hall Square.) In Tartu at the time, this vehicle with its canvas-covered body was an eye-catching "foreign car"; it was often seen driving around the city carrying materials or transporting the Polish restorers. The vehicle's dignity and durability are shown by the fact that once a month the Polish restorers made a longer trip in the Zuk from Tartu home to Poland, with 5–6 men sitting in the back under the canvas... In the early 1990s, when the Moscow money ran out and there was nothing left to fund the restoration projects, the Polish builders also left. The vehicle served its new owner for years as an indispensable utility vehicle. The author vividly remembers one beautiful summer day when he borrowed the car from his father and drove his friends out of town to a lake in the back..... There was plenty of fun and attention guaranteed...