National Museum (Prague)
The National Museum ( Czech Národní muzeum ) in Prague is the leading museum in the Czech Republic for cultural and natural history. It has numerous collections, exhibition buildings and also historically significant buildings. The main building on Wenceslas Square houses an archaeological-historical section on the prehistory and early history of today's national territory (currently still including Slovakia ), a mineralogical, a zoological and an anthropological section. After seven years of extensive renovation, the museum reopened on October 28, 2018 with an exhibition about the Czech Republic and Slovakia and a selection of 200 important pieces from the collection.
In front of the building was one of the two originally intended places for the monument of St. Wenceslas , which was then built lower down on Wenceslas Square. Since the year 2000 there has been an inconspicuous monument to Jan Palach and Jan Zajíc in front of the building .
history
The museum was founded in 1818 as the Vlastenecké muzeum v Čechách (Fatherland Museum in Bohemia ). From 1848 it was called the České muzeum (Bohemian Museum), from 1854 to 1919 it was called the Muzeum Království českého (Museum of the Kingdom of Bohemia). Before the new building, the seat was moved to the Palais Sternberg (1821–1846) and the Palais Nostitz for a while.
It all started with collections of Bohemian aristocrats. On April 15, 1818, some of the patriotically-minded nobles, led by the scholarly palaeontologist Count Kaspar Maria von Sternberg , signed an appeal for the establishment of a museum, the construction of which was approved by the Viennese government in 1820. The newly established society of the National Museum in Bohemia , as the owner and manager of the collections, also organized the entire handling of all tasks. Count Sternberg became the first chairman. The company remained the owner until 1934, after which the administration and property were nationalized.
main building
The terminus Národní muzeum (just Muzeum for short , compare the name of the adjacent metro station - Muzeum ) is only used for the main building on Wenceslas Square. The building in neo -renaissance style was designed and built by Josef Schulz from 1885 to 1891. The front is over 100 m long and accessible via a ramp. On the entrance there are cast lanterns and an allegorical representation of the Czech Republic with Moravia and Silesia, Elbe and Moldau by Antonín Pavel Wagner . On both sides of the entrance you can see symbolic representations of the history and natural sciences of Josef Maudr . On the front there are also reliefs of the founding of the monastery in Zbraslav , the founding of the Charles University in Prague , during the reign of Rudolf II (HRR) von Wagner. Gilded marble slabs with the names of important Czech personalities are attached to the facade. On the sides of the main tower there are groups of statues of Bohuslav Snirch (sacrifice, passion, love of truth, love of history). Allegorical portraits of the scientific fields of Wagner, Antonín Popp , Bernhard Otto Seeling , František Hergesell and Ludvík Wurzel are depicted on the side peaks .
Most of the interior was designed by artists who also furnished the National Theater . The building should not only stand out for its monumentality, but also for its functionality. The entrance hall is decorated with bronze statues of Libuše , Přemysl the Ploughman , Ottokar II. Přemysl and Prince Wenceslaus of Bohemia by the Munich sculptor Ludwig Schwanthaler . Further works by this artist can be found on the stairs ( Elisabeth , Georg von Podiebrad , Ernst von Pardubitz , Bohuslaus Lobkowicz von Hassenstein ). Famous places from Czech history are depicted on the walls.
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During the Prague Spring 1968, the front wall of the National Museum was damaged by tank shells from the Red Army , which mistakenly considered the building to be strategically important and assumed it was the parliament building, the presidential palace or something similar. The later repaired areas in the facade can still be recognized today by the lighter color. In the 1970s, there was a risk of partial demolition due to the construction of the underground, and damage to the vestibule of the museum occurred during the construction of the railway. The damage was repaired between 2011 and 2018 in an extensive renovation. The costs were initially estimated at 190 million euros. At that time, a closing time of five years was assumed. An increase in costs is also to be expected with the extension. The renovation led to a significant expansion of the exhibition area to 11,300 m² (new and historic building), which means that significantly more exhibits can be shown. On the occasion of the centenary of the founding of Czechoslovakia on October 28, 2018, the building was partially made accessible. The renovation work will be fully completed in 2019.
Exhibitions
As a result of the extensive renovation, the museum has developed a new exhibition concept for the period from 2019/20. The history of the 20th century and a children's museum will be housed in the new building. The new historical and scientific permanent exhibitions are located in the historical main building.
• Nature. A paleontological collection with a focus on the Paleocene is located on the first floor of the museum . Among other things, a bone is shown, which is assigned to the only dinosaur ever excavated on Czech territory.
• Miracles of evolution. Located in the right wing of the 2nd floor, the zoological exhibition focuses on the history of evolution. Using exhibits of sea, land and flight creatures, she wants to trace the development of prehistoric life up to and including mammals.
• The History of the 20th Century exhibition is located on the 4th and 5th floors of the museum. The interweaving of politics, economy and everyday history from the beginning of the 1st republic to the 21st century is the subject of this multimedia-equipped collection of exhibits.
• The children's museum is located on the 2nd floor of the attached new building. Themes are the sea of the Paleocene, mammoth hunting, the Middle Ages and the discovery of natural laws. The exhibition offers a leisure zone as well as interactive museum educational approaches.
• The connecting corridor between the historic building and the new building is also a multimedia exhibition area for the history of Wenceslas Square between 1918 and 2018, which primarily shows the architectural development.
• History. This exhibition complex is located in the new building and covers the historical development of Bohemia from the 9th century to the 1st World War. Particular attention is paid to the nationalist currents and developments of the 19th century.
• People. Housed in the left wing of the 1st floor in the historic building, this exhibition shows the history of human development from his ancestors to the Neanderthals and the ancient Mediterranean cultures.
• The treasury and coin cabinet is located on the ground floor of the building in the left wing. Jewels, precious stones and a numismatic collection are shown.
All new permanent exhibitions were developed by different teams of architects. The university library and lecture halls are also located in the building.
More showrooms
Right next to the main building is the building of the former Federal Assembly, which was handed over to the museum in 2009.
In addition to the collections in the main building, the museum also includes the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures on Betlémské náměstí, the Bedřich Smetana Museum not far from Charles Bridge , the Antonín Dvořák Museum , the Lapidárium in Výstaviště (exhibition area), the monument of Jaroslav Ježek in Kaprova ulice, the monument of František Palacký and František Ladislav Rieger in Palackého ulice and the Czech Museum of Music in Karmelitská ulice.
Outside of Prague, the Czech Marionette and Circus Museum in Prachatice , Antonín Dvořák's house in Nelahozeves , Bedřich Smetana's long-term home in Jabkenice , the home of the composer Josef Suk in Křečovice and the Vrchotovy Janovice chateau are all assigned to him.
Web links
- Official website
- Markéta Kachlíková: National Museum shines in a new guise. Radio Praha, October 28, 2018, accessed on November 2, 2018 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ http://www.nm.cz/Historie-NM/Hlavni-budova/, March 29, 2016. ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Pomník Jana Palacha a Jana Zajíce , March 29, 2016.
- ^ Süddeutsche Zeitung (Saturday, July 9, 2011, page 15)
- ↑ Marco Zimmermann: NATIONAL MUSEUM IN PRAGUE CLOSES ITS DOORS FOR FIVE YEARS. Radio Praha , July 7, 2011, accessed April 7, 2017 (report on the renovation).
- ↑ https://www.nm.cz/en/visit-us/buildings/historical-building-of-the-national-museum
- ↑ NATIONAL MUSEUM. Retrieved March 10, 2019 .
Coordinates: 50 ° 4 ′ 44 ″ N , 14 ° 25 ′ 51 ″ E