Great Prague Landmarks; the National Museum
August 23rd 2008 05:47
From its lofty seat at the top of the rise, the National Museum looks down like a grand old dame on Prague’s busy Wenceslas Square. Its gold dome and magnificent neo-renaissance façade compel the eyes and turn the heads of all who pass.
Although the Museum collection was first established in 1818, it did not have a dedicated building until the present National Museum opened on May 18, 1881. It was designed by the Czech Technical University’s Professor Josef Schultz who was also the architect of the Rudolphinum and the National theatre. Like the former buildings, the National Museum was born of the Czech National Revival. It soon became an important symbol of Czech culture, science and learning.
The interior, which was not completed until 1903, is the product of the genius of 19th century Bohemia's foremost artists and craftsmen. The pillared entrance hall is peopled with statues by the sculptor Ludwig Schwanthaler - of Princess Libuse and her ploughman husband Premysl, King Wenceslas and Premysyl Otakar II. Dual staircases, flanked by paintings of Czech Castles and landscapes, lead up to the main gallery. Upstairs the beautiful glass domed Pantheon displays busts and statues of famous Czech writers, artists and scholars. Its walls are lined with paintings depicting turning points in Czech history.
The National Museum collection, which is the countries largest and oldest, is fascinating. It traces the evolution of the country and its people. It also houses a vast collection of minerals, fossils and animals both skeletal and stuffed. Here one can lose oneself, in echoing halls with polished floors and dark, wooden glass-fronted display cases, on a journey of quiet, contemplative discovery. For this is an old-style museum, with none of the whiz-bang, hands on, computer-age gadgetry of the modern institution.
These days, the National Museum’s collections are rapidly outgrowing the old building at the top of Wenceslas Square. Soon, the building across the road, once the seat of Parliament and now home to Radio Free Europe will become part of a new museum complex with restaurants, lecture theatres and exhibition halls, in 21st century style.
Still, the grand old gold-domed dame, survivor of World War II, when its central staircase was hit by a bomb and of the 1968 Soviet intervention, when it was peppered with machine gun fire, is as sound and as lovely as it was over a century ago. It will always be the mainstay of the institution and a powerful a symbol of Czech culture, science and education.
The National Museum at the top of Wenceslas Square
Although the Museum collection was first established in 1818, it did not have a dedicated building until the present National Museum opened on May 18, 1881. It was designed by the Czech Technical University’s Professor Josef Schultz who was also the architect of the Rudolphinum and the National theatre. Like the former buildings, the National Museum was born of the Czech National Revival. It soon became an important symbol of Czech culture, science and learning.
The entrance hall of the National Museum
The interior, which was not completed until 1903, is the product of the genius of 19th century Bohemia's foremost artists and craftsmen. The pillared entrance hall is peopled with statues by the sculptor Ludwig Schwanthaler - of Princess Libuse and her ploughman husband Premysl, King Wenceslas and Premysyl Otakar II. Dual staircases, flanked by paintings of Czech Castles and landscapes, lead up to the main gallery. Upstairs the beautiful glass domed Pantheon displays busts and statues of famous Czech writers, artists and scholars. Its walls are lined with paintings depicting turning points in Czech history.
The National Museum collection, which is the countries largest and oldest, is fascinating. It traces the evolution of the country and its people. It also houses a vast collection of minerals, fossils and animals both skeletal and stuffed. Here one can lose oneself, in echoing halls with polished floors and dark, wooden glass-fronted display cases, on a journey of quiet, contemplative discovery. For this is an old-style museum, with none of the whiz-bang, hands on, computer-age gadgetry of the modern institution.
These days, the National Museum’s collections are rapidly outgrowing the old building at the top of Wenceslas Square. Soon, the building across the road, once the seat of Parliament and now home to Radio Free Europe will become part of a new museum complex with restaurants, lecture theatres and exhibition halls, in 21st century style.
Still, the grand old gold-domed dame, survivor of World War II, when its central staircase was hit by a bomb and of the 1968 Soviet intervention, when it was peppered with machine gun fire, is as sound and as lovely as it was over a century ago. It will always be the mainstay of the institution and a powerful a symbol of Czech culture, science and education.
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