MUSEUMS

Museum of Communism

The museum of communism presents the era of communism in Czechoslovakia from many different points of view. Special attention is paid to the period of the totalitarian regime from the February coup of 1948 up to the November revolution of 1989. The museum is located in the Savarin Palace not far from the Wenceslas Square. The exhibited showpieces first of all try to outline real life in a totalitarian regime – the communist school system, army, the police, propaganda and censorship.

Original materials and interesting installations, which contain authentic artefacts from the Museum's own comprehensive archive, are on display. Materials obtained from both public and private collections and archives are exhibited there as well. The exhibition is accompanied by a narration based on verified data and facts related to communism as a phenomenon of the twentieth century. All this is to be seen in three exhibition halls and an adjacent projection room.

Museum of Miniatures

The Museum of Miniatures in the Strahov courtyard features unique miniatures by Anatolij Konenko. Here you can find, for instance, a camel caravan in an eye of a needle, a portrait of A. P. Tchechov painted on a split poppy seed, or the Lord's Prayer written on a human hair. Further curiosities include the smallest book in the world with the dimensions of 0,9 x 0,9 millimetres, a grasshopper playing the violin or miniature copies of pictures by famous painters (Dalí, Matisse, Boticelli, Rembrandt) hand-painted on mammoth bone with the dimensions of 10 x 10 millimetres. All exhibits are visible only with the help of a magnifying glass or a microscope.

Alfons Mucha's Museum

This is the world’s first museum dedicated to the life and work of world-acclaimed Czech Art Nouveau artist Alfons Mucha. It is housed in the Baroque Kaunický Palace in the Panská Street, not far from the Wenceslas Square. The exhibition gives an extensive overview of the artistic work of Alfons Mucha. Aside from the “Slavic epic”, special attention is paid to his time in Paris, internationally the most recognised period of his work.

A set of posters including the most important ones made for Sarah Bernhardt as well as a set of his characteristic decorative panels and numerous samples from his Parisian sketchbooks are on display. Other decorative objects and samples of book illustrations can be found in the showcases as well. At the end of the exhibition we can see a suggestion of what Mucha´s studio in Paris must have looked like, with some original furniture, photos of his family and a set of photographs taken by him in Paris. A half an hour long documentary film about the life and work of the artist is also a part of the exhibition.