Many of the city’s historical treasures can be found in Florenc as well as in other places.
The relatively small building in Florenc is only the tip of the iceberg and represents only a fraction of the treasure that is for the most part hidden in the depositories of Prague City Museum. The pride of the museum is Langweil’s Model of Prague, a unique exhibit of its kind in the whole world. Even today, the model allows preservationists to determine the appearance and location of e.g. buildings that are no longer there.
The importance of the life of Praguers
With a little bit of exaggeration, it could be said that the museum is not interested in anything apart from the life of Praguers. This is also the theme of the latest exhibition open until the end of February. It has been entitled MERKUR – from the history of children’s metal building sets. It is clear that all boys from Prague must see such an exhibition. The museum is also preparing another exhibition that many might find surprising: Vietnam in Prague. The Vietnamese community has become an integral part of the city so it is no wonder that the exhibition will deal with this theme, which is the first of its kind.
Waiting for an extension
Besides temporary exhibitions and Langweil’s Model of Prague, the main museum building in Florenc also offers a permanent exhibition on Prague from pre-historical times until the 18th century. There is no room for more. “The construction of a new building has been discussed for a long time and now it really seems to be taking shape,” said the museum’s director, Zuzana Strnadová. “The new building should stand opposite the present building. Thanks to the extension of the exhibition space, we will be able to show the development of Prague up to present times.”
Secrets hidden in depositories
Hundreds of thousands of exhibits, which are stored in the museum’s new depositories, are waiting to be placed on display. Praguers will often see them for the first time. Still, some of them have been displayed at a number of exhibitions that the museum has organized. Most exhibitions are directly connected with the life of Praguers, even contemporary Praguers, as the museum also keeps exhibits from the recent past. Exhibitions that offer a link with the present are always met with great success. Such exhibitions included e.g. Prague’s Cafés or popular exhibitions comparing pictures and photographs of the old and the new Prague.
Archaeological discoveries
The museum’s depositories keep growing every day, mostly thanks to the huge construction boom. Every construction is preceded by archaeological research. Its results are processed and stored in the depositories. The museum put these seemingly unattractive fragments from the ground together to form an exhibition of the Best 12 Prague archaeological discoveries. It is these discoveries that often advance the history of the city and modify deep-rooted views on the city’s history.
Publications immortalize exhibitions
Passing moments of exhibitions are captured in the museum’s publications. A lot has been published worthy of the attention of experts, yet over the last few years, the museum has published a number of books on its own exhibitions. This way, you can compare old paintings by Jan Minařík or Václav Jansa with contemporary photographs by Ondřej Polák, recollect the atmosphere of Prague cafés or how Praguers amused themselves. These are not catalogues, these are publications which will give pleasure to all those who love Prague.
What else? The Vltava
Podskalí Custom House, the little house beside the railway bridge over the Vltava, is also a part of Prague City Musem. All those who wish to know more about the Vltava, navigation on the river, rafts, steam navigation and the Podskalí area simply must come to Podskalí to discover the river’s secrets and to learn how it still affects the life of the city. This is also a unique matter, as not every river has its own exhibition space.
Praguers are a minority
As for Prague City Museum visitors, it can be said that most of them are Czech tourists or Praguers. There is one exception, though – the Müller Villa, also called Loos Villa. It is one of the six most significant villas from the 20th century and was built by Adolf Loos. The villa is visited by tourists from all around the World, Japanese, Americans, Australians and Europeans but only very few Czechs come to see this place. We probably haven’t learnt to value some of our own gems. And you can be certain that Prague City Museum has a lot of such gems to offer.
Source: www.praha.eu
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