National Museum Prague
It forms an inseparable dominant feature of Wenceslas Square in Prague, is the largest museum in the Czech Republic and also a central state museum with a collection-creating, scientific, educational and methodological function. The National Museum in Prague consists of five specialized institutes:
Information for visitors
Interesting facts National Museum Prague
- Natural History Museum
- Historical museum
- Library of the National Museum
- Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures
- Museum of Czech Music
The collections of the National Museum in Prague include material evidence of the development of nature, prehistory and history of Czech and foreign origin, especially in the fields of mineralogy, geology, petrology, paleontology, botany, medieval archeology, theater history, Czech history and many others.
The term National Museum most often refers to the main building at Wenceslas Square 68 in Prague, which was closed in 2011 for seven years due to reconstruction. The reopening of the museum is planned for the 200th anniversary of the founding of the National Museum, in 2018.
The museum was founded in 1818. At that time it was called the Patriotic Museum in Bohemia and from 1848 it was renamed the Czech Museum. From 1854 to 1919 it was the Museum of the Kingdom of Bohemia. Even before the new building was built, the museum was housed in the Sternberg Palace in Hradčany and later in the Nostic Palace in Na Příkopě.
The architect of the Neo-Renaissance building was Josef Schulz, who created the central space of the Pantheon. A whole generation of artists from the National Theater took part in its decoration and construction. At that time, a total of 27 designs took part in the competition for the project of the National Theater building, of which this one was the winner, mainly due to its monumentality.
In 1968, the front facade of the building was damaged by missiles from the Warsaw Pact armies, and the statics of the building were then damaged during the construction of the metro in the 1970s. However, the building was never renovated, but at the beginning of the 21st century it was already in a very bad condition.
On July 8, 2011, the building of the National Museum was closed due to reconstruction. This should last until 2017, while the exteriors and interiors of the building should be repaired, the courtyard will be roofed, the dome will be made accessible and the connecting tunnel to the former Federal Assembly building will be built. Twice as large an area as before should be used for the new exhibition.
Author: Andrea Štyndlová