Museums & Galleries
Featuring about one hundred exhibition halls and galleries and over twenty museums, the city of Prague contains many rare and unexpected surprises. Theological artefacts from the Middle Ages compete with the more current splendour of Art Nouveau and the modern art giants. Numerous galleries have appeared following the Velvet Revolution of 1989 featuring lots of temporary displays. Some museums are dedicated to the state’s history, Prague city and its’ population. Lots of these museums are present within buildings which are historical landmarks and art works themselves.
If you’re not normally a museum visitor, or if you’re on a short holiday in Prague and don’t have time for a long museum visit, catch a quick glance into Prague’s National Museum and behold the picturesque Ceremonial Hall.
Museums
The National Museum
Permanent exhibitions: Primeval history of the Czech Lands and Slovakia, Mineralogical and petrological collections, zoological collection, palaeontological collection, anthropological collection.
Location: Prague 1, Václayské náměstí 68, www.nm.cz
Opening hours: daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (May – September), daily 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. (October – April). Closed every first Tuesday of the month. Admission free every first Monday of the month.
Bedřich Smetana’s Museum
Permanent exhibition offers an introduction into the life and works of Bedřich Smetana (1824 – 1884) – the world famous Czech composer and conductor.
Location: Prague 1, Novotného lávka 1, www.nm.cz
Opening hours: daily except Tuesdays 10 a.m. — 12 noon and 12.30 p.m. – 5 p.m.
Antonín Dvořák’s Museum
Location: Prague 2, Ke Karlovu 20, www.nm.cz
Opening hours: daily except Mon. 10 a.m. – 1.30 p.m. and 2 p.m. – 5.30 p.m. (April – September), daily except Mon. 9.30 a.m. -1.30 p.m. and 2 p.m. — 5 p.m. (October – March). America Garden daily except Mon 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Prague City Museum
Location: Prague 8, Na Poříčí 52, www.muzeumprahy.cz
Opening hours: daily except Mon. 9 a.m. – 6 p.m., every first Thursday of the month 9 a.m. — 8 p.m. Permanent exhibition: Indian cultures of North and South America. Cultures of Australia and Oceania. Opening hours: daily except Monday 10 a.m. -6p.m.
Bertramka (Memorial to W. A. Mozart)
A villa from the latter half of the 17′ century where W A. Mozart stayed during his visits in Prague in 1787 and 1791. He finished the opera Don Giovanni here.
Location: Prague 5, Mozartova 169, www.bertramka.cz
Opening hours: daily 9.30 a.m. — 4 p.m. (January – March, November, December), daily 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. (April – October).
Museum of Communism
Permanent exhibition: Dreams, Reality and Nightmares – depicts the communist regime in Czechoslovakia.
Location: Prague 1, Na Příkopě 10, Savarin Palace, www.muzeumkomunismu.cz
Opening hours: daily 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Alphones Mucha Museum
Permanent exhibition: Works of Alphonse Mucha (1860 – 1939), the acclaimed founder of the Art-Nouveau style.
Location: Prague 1, Panská 7, www.mucha.cz
Opening hours: Mon. – Fri. 11 p.m. – 5 p.m., Sat. + Sun. 11 p.m. – 6 p.m. (January, February), daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (March – December).
Franz Kadka’s Permanent Exhibition
Permanent exhibition: Memorial hall commemorating the life and work of the most famous writer of Prague German literature.
Location: Prague 1, náměstí Franze Kafky
Opening hours: Tue. — Fri. 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Franz Kafka’s Museum
Permanent exhibition: Franz Kafka and Prague – the life and work of Kafka through documents (photographs, manuscripts, diaries, correspondence, first editions of his works, audio-visual works, music).
Location: Prague 1, Cihelná 2b, www.kafkamuseum.cz
Opening hours: daily 11 p.m. – 5 p.m. (January, February), daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. (March – December).
National Technical Museum
Permanent exhibitions: Transport (road, air railway and shipping traffic). Astronomy. The measurement of time. Intercamera (history of photographic and film technology) Metallurgy. Acoustics and noise ecology. Mining (ore and coal mines) Evolution of telecommunications technology.
Location: Prague 7, Kostelní 42, www.ntm.cz
Puppet Museum
Permanent exhibition: Puppet making traditions in the Czech Lands from the early 178′ century to the early 20th century. Czech traditional and modern puppet theatre; puppet cultures of the world; puppets from the collections of famous Czech carvers.
Location: Prague 1, Karlova 44, www.puppetart.com
Opening hours: daily 3 p.m. – 4.30 p.m., tours may be scheduled outside opening hours.
Wax Museum
Permanent exhibition: Czech and international famous personalities from the area of culture, politics and sports.
Location: Prague 1, Melantrichova 5, www.waxmuseumprague.cz
Opening hours: daily 9 a.m.-8 p.m.
U Ffleků Brewery Museum
Permanent exhibition: The history of beer making.
Location: Prague 1, Křemencova 11, www.ufleku.cz
Opening hours: Mon. — Fri. 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Sat. + Sun. and holidays only groups of min. 10 people after previous reservation.
Art Galleries
House of the Black Madonna – Exhibition of Czech Cubism
This building contains one of the most spectacular collections of Cubism in the whole of the Czech Republic, with the main focus being on the period of 1910-1919. The actual building itself is also amazing to look at, having been designed by the famous architect Josef Gocar.
Jaroslav Fragner Gallery
This museum is wholly dedicated to architecture, and in particular the architects and their creations that have worked in the development of this practice within the Czech Republic.
Langhans Gallery Prague
This is a museum with a vast collection of artistic photography, with exhibits spanning the history of this art form. New forms of media are also included here as the world of photography moves into the 21st century.
Manes Exhibition Hall
The building itself is considered to be a fine example of Functionalist architecture and the building is therefore just as impressive as the avant-garde art that is exhibited inside the building. One of the most striking features of the building is the placement of old and new architecture found in the building, with a 15th century water tower standing next to the 1930s exhibition hall.
Prague Castle Picture Gallery
As you would expect from the name of the museum, the contents here focuses on the important paintings found in Prague Castle. The museum can trace its history all the way back to the 16th century, as Emperor Rudolph II had a massive collection of art in his possession, although only a few pieces still remain in the museum. The collection holds works by famous German, Flemish, Italian and Dutch artists, as well as a number of paintings by Czech artists which were added in the 1930s.
Schwarzenberg Palace
This fantastic building has recently undergone a major renovation and houses an excellent exhibition of some of the best examples of Baroque and craftsmanship, acquired from the Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague. Such renowned experts in the field as Ferdinand Maxmilian Brokoff and Matthias Bernard Braun have their works exhibited here. There are also a number of different Baroque period paintings from the 18th century and examples from the Mannerism period of the 16th and 17th centuries, as well as works from the Classicism period.
Trade Fair Palace, National Gallery’s Collection of Modern and Contemporary Art
This museum is solely dedicated to works from the 20th and 21st centuries and is spread over three floors, such is the extent of the number of exhibits. As well as Czech art, it also exhibits art from all over the world – in fact, there are over 2,000 different exhibits in total.
The Convent Of St George
Included in the nineteenth century art displays are historical paintings like the one of Hungary’s Matthias Corvinus and Poděbrady’s King George by the Czech painter Mikoláš Aleš.
The Palace Of Sternberg
The assortment of art from Europe here is phenomenal, depicted in works like ‘The Feast of the Rosary’ by the artist Albrecht Durer.
The Convent Of St Agnes Of Bohemia
The art collection here features the fourteenth century Christ Resurrection by the Třeboň Altar’s Master.
TIP: Free Walking Tour | Dinner on the River Cruise | Cheap Airport Shuttle