Narodni muzeum

The imposing Neo-Renaissance building Narodni muzeum (National Museum in English) sits on the site of a former gate of the old wall of Nové Mesto. The Horse Gate, delimited Wenceslas Square until it was demolished in 1875.

A year later a proposal for a new building that would reflect the Czech National revival at the advantageous piece of land that was now free at the upper corner of the square was put on the table for the constantly relocating up to the National Museum. On June 1885 the proposal of the winner of the competition, a proponent of the Neo-Renaissance style architect Josef Schulz, gets permission for the building to begin.

From the first earthworks that started in July 1885 to the opening ceremony in May 1891, Prague welcomed one of its more impressive landmarks after just six years. The museum rises 70 meters above the ground, in the shape of a regular rectangle with 104 meters long and 74 m wide frontage.

338 stairs lead from the fountain to the tower while there are a total of more than 3.500 doors and 562 windows. The imposing staircase decorated with 16 paintings of Czech castles and historically burdened places leads to the most spectacular hall of the museum, the Pantheon. More

The 400 m2 Pantheon, covered with an indoor glass dome is the most distinctive & impressive hall of the building. It serves festive occasions. The walls are decorated with four pictures of significant historical events: the message of Libuše and St. Methodius translating the Holy Scriptures (by František Ženíšek), the foundation of the Charles University and J. A. Comenius in Amsterdam.

Unfortunately due to a major renovation that started in 2015 and will be completed in 2018, the museum is closed to the public. However, a part of the museum’s collection is exhibited in other buildings, including the former seat of Parliament and the current seat of Radio Free Europe which will be linked together with an underground tunnel, creating a modern museum complex.