The Jetpacker

The Czech National Museum in Prague displays about 14 million objects from the fields of art, history, botany and everything in between.  There are departments dedicated to mineralogy, zoology, archeology and every other word you can think of that ends with “-ology” (besides the gross ones).  But the most attractive feature isn’t inside the museum… it’s the museum itself.

This grandiose neo-Renaissance building that dominates Wenceslas Square was completed in 1890 and has survived despite numerous bouts with danger.  When the Soviets invaded Prague in 1968, they confused the National Gallery for a government building and barraged it with bullets; you can still see some of the shell marks today.

The real architectural star is the grand staircase in the opulent main hall.  The skylight casts a soft glow over the cream-colored stairs, accentuating the marbled pillars and the dark busts on the top floor.

Another architectural marvel is the two-story Pantheon, which contains the busts of some of the most important figures in Czech history.  We’re no experts on Czech history (we’re barely experts on American history), so we had no clue who these people were, but that doesn’t take away from the Pantheon’s immense scope and beauty.  The elaborate ceiling features numerous frescoes and amazing stucco work.  And there’s a phenomenal view of Wenceslas Square from the second floor.

The museum’s vast collections seem impressive, but the informational cards are only in the Czech language.  And because we had no context, we wandered through the rooms quickly.  “Oh, look, bones.”  “Oh, look, a truck load of rocks.”  “Oh, look, a scary amount of stuffed and mounted animals.”  (The National Museum must have like 20 taxidermists employed full time.)  The most exciting thing was seeing the bones of a Wooly Mammoth.

When we visited, there was a temporary exhibition dedicated to Czech history (fortunately in English).  It contained everything from old military uniforms to traditional outfits to mock-ups of turn of the century classrooms and bars.  The most interesting feature was drawings for proposed designs of the Czech flag.

And since we’re hockey buffs, we reveled in the small exhibition dedicated to the origins and history of hockey in the Czech Republic, including a display of medals won in various World Championships and Olympics.

Here’s the official website.