Jawa was founded in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, in 1929 by Frantisek Janecek. He purchased the motorcycle division of Wanderer, and the ‘Jawa’ name is the amalgamation of the first two letters of his name and Wanderer. The Jawa brand was sold in India beginning in 1960 under the Ideal Jawa brand. In 1973, they were also sold under the ‘Yezdi’ brand. Production stopped eventually in 1996. Meanwhile, internationally, 1997 saw the formation of Jawa Moto, the company that succeeded the original Jawa.