The National Technical Museum in Prague (Národní Technické Muzeum) covers the history of technology in the Czech Republic. The recently restored museum has become even more extensive and interesting for all age groups and provides an opportunity to relax from the hustle and bustle of the city. Students, workers of science and technology enjoy unique exhibits, conduct new research, trying to find modern technical solutions. And even non-professionals can easily understand the scientific concepts of past eras, which are very clearly demonstrated in exhibitions. The huge six-story museum is the home of the technical historical heritage of the bohemian lands and stores more than 58,000 copies, of which 15 percent are classified as historically valuable.
History of the Technical Museum
Museum collection of samples of machines and goods that created a boom during the industrial revolution, started in the Czech Republic in 1834. The title of father of the technical museum in Prague is often attributed to the Russian patriot Vojtech Naprstek (1826-1894). Since 1862, he began to collect a collection of industrial and technical innovations of that time around the world, and in 1887 made it public.
Naprstek was a great success at exhibitions in Vienna, the capital of the then Austro-Hungarian Empire. These events led to the creation of a technical museum, culminating in 1908, when it was decided to create it. In 1910, the museum officially opened its doors in the Schwarzenberg Palace on Hradcanska Square.
In the interwar period (1918-1938), collections grew so fast that it became necessary to open a separate building. The construction was entrusted to the architect Milan Babushkin (1884-1953), the work was carried out in 1938-1941 and completed in the summer before the war. During the Second World War, the building was captured by the Nazis, who established a post office of the protectorate in it, and only in 1948 part of the building was returned to the museum.
In 1951, the museum became state-owned and was named the National Technical Museum in Prague. In the 1960s, he expanded his expositions and established contacts with the administrations of other technical museums around the world. After 2003, reconstruction began, which was completed in 2013.
Actual exhibits
Currently, the museum displays more than 70,000 exhibits demonstrating the development of science and technology on Czech lands. The museum is very popular. About 250,000 people visit it every year.
You can see unique collections in the Prague Technical Museum, such as 16th-century astronomical objects used by Tycho Brahe himself, the first car in Czechoslovakia and the oldest daguerreotypes in the world. There is also a library with a book stock of 250,000 items.
Collection items, books and archival items are located not only in the museum, but also in professional and educational institutions throughout the city. The areas represented in the museum include acoustics, architecture, the construction industry, light industry, and electrical engineering. At the entrance to the museum is the oldest carousel in Europe, which is the main attraction for visitors.
Itinerary
The technical museum is popular in the country. When city guests are recommended where to go in Prague, they definitely call it. In order to get to the object by public transport, it is best to go by trams No. 1, 25, 12, 26, 8 to the Letenské Náměstí stop. From it to the museum - about 5 minutes walk. It can also be easily reached on foot from Old Town Square or the Municipal House. The walk will pass through the beautiful park "Letensky Gardens", its duration is about 20 minutes.
Opening hours: 9: 00-18: 00, ticket sales end 30 minutes before closing time. The National Technical Museum has wheelchair access. The full price of the admission ticket is 1300 rubles. There are preferential categories of visitors, for example, for school groups - 150 rubles. for each child and 2 accompanying teachers free of charge. School groups can buy tickets without a queue, they do not need a reservation. Admission for children under 6 years is free. The services of a guide in Russian cost 420 rubles. Only CZK, credit and debit cards are accepted. Paid parking is located in front of the museum.
Made in Czechoslovakia
The exposition of industrial achievements of the country is devoted to manufactured goods manufactured in Czechoslovakia. This exhibition features famous products with labels "Made in Czechoslovakia". It was prepared on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Czechoslovak Republic. Its task is to convey information to visitors about the famous products of Czechoslovak companies produced from 1918 to 1992.
The exhibition features 130 exhibits. Visitors can feel the atmosphere of the period when the product was released, thanks to the examples of promotional materials used. Reviews of the technical museum in Prague speak of a superbly composed exposition, which has an interactive part for more interesting visitors. In the playroom located at the exhibition, children can play with toys that their parents played in childhood. Each exhibit is unique and represents the country's historical industrial potential.
Architecture and Civil Engineering
The architectural exposition represents the main stages of the construction of objects on Czech lands from the second half of the XIX century to the present day. Here visitors can familiarize themselves with engineering elements and the technology of building chain bridges, houses with iron roofs and other objects with unique designs. Visitors will get an idea of the most important buildings and the characteristic features of various styles of historical architecture: modernism, cubism, constructivism, functionalism, socialist realism and mass prefabricated housing projects of the 1960s. The hall presents both original and completely new models, including sculptural additions, and numerous studies.
The exhibition offers a pleasant visit to the rooms decorated in the Art Nouveau and Cubism style, which makes it possible to plunge into the atmosphere of that time. Visitors can enter the 19th and 20th century architectural bureaus or learn about the success of the Czechoslovak pavilion at Expo 58 in Brussels.
Astronomical exposure
It is conceived as an infinite space of the Universe, full of shining stars in the form of unique collection objects. The introductory part of the elliptical device “From the History of Astronomy” represents the main milestones of the development of science over the past 6000 years. The oldest object in the collection with an age of almost 5,000 years is a meteorite, found in 2005 in Campo del Cielo in Argentina.
In the second part of the exhibition "From the History of Astronomical Instruments" in six thematic chapters shows devices used in different periods of history from the 15th to the 20th century. The theme of the presentation dates back to the 16-17th centuries, when the residence of Emperor Rudolph II in Prague was home to the most famous astronomers of the time - Tycho Brahe and Johannes Kepler.
The exhibition demonstrates the research instruments of prominent scientists: armillary spheres, balls, sundials and other objects. The 18th century also offers a glimpse into the wonderful world of astronomers, surveyors, cartographers, mathematicians and ship navigators. The principles of using devices and aids, as well as information on the latest achievements of astronomy are presented on large screens.
Transport history
The transport hall is traditionally the most popular among visitors. The world of old technologies was captured at the automobile exhibition: the first cars that worked on internal combustion engines and steam engines, numerous motorcycles demonstrating their development from the late 19th century to the present, samples of railway equipment, airplanes suspended from the ceiling.
It also houses a basket of balloons, the glider of Igo Etrich. The collection includes unique historical aircraft: Anatra DS, Traktor, leisure aircraft Zlín Z XIII and dozens of others. All this creates a unique atmosphere in which distinguished and impeccable machines dominate, which have proved their worth.
The exposition in separate narratives shows the entire history of the development of automobile, motorcycle, bicycle, aviation and boat transport. The shorter excursions show fragments from the history of railway transport and the development of firefighting equipment on Czech lands - both vehicles manufactured in the country and vehicles imported from abroad and operated here.
The car exhibition presents Czech production of vehicles. Mention should be made of the 1898 NW President car, the first manufactured on Czech lands, and the 1911 Kašpar JK aircraft, on which Jan Kashpar made the first long-distance flight in history. Other exhibits are the 1935 Tatra 80, which was used by President T. G. Masaryk, and the Supermarine Spitfire LF Mk.IXE fighter, in which Czech pilots returned to liberated Czechoslovakia.
Metals - the path of civilization
The exposition of the history of metallurgy represents the technical and historical development of the industry and its connection with the development of the country. The processes for producing iron processing equipment are documented by a restored 9th century Slavic metallurgical plant.
The development of pig iron production at all stages is represented by both a series of models and original equipment. The era of the industrial revolution, which had a significant impact on the production of pig iron and its use in mechanical engineering, transport and construction, is shown by the example of coal blast furnaces of the early 19th century at the Wojteš Steel Works in Kladno, including the first blast furnace in 1856. Immediately demonstrated the modern technology of the continuous process of casting steel.
The second part of the exposition consists of four sections and is devoted to the role of iron in antiquity. Currently, the metallurgical exposition at the National Technical Museum is the only one in the Czech Republic.
Measuring time
The exposition "Time Measurement" contains many historical devices for measuring time: solar, water, fire, sand, mechanical, as well as electrical and electronic devices and, finally, a quantum clock.
The exposition tells about the internal development of the watch industry. During the 19th century, the country's technology kept pace with the latest achievements in the world. This was largely due to the efforts of Josef Bozek and Joseph Kosek, their works are also presented in the museum.
A significant part of the space is devoted to watch manufacturing technology. Visitors can view a wide range of tools and fixtures. A special place of the exposition is the audiovisual room, in which a fascinating film is shown, telling about the phenomenon of time in a historical context.
Appliances
Nearby is a new exhibition, “Household Appliances,” which shows the history of appliances to facilitate female labor: cleaning, washing, ironing, sewing, cooking, etc. It informs visitors about which appliances were available and how they were used in their time. .
On the 3rd floor of the National Technical Museum there is a television studio. The exhibition is designed in cooperation with Czech television and has operating equipment and furniture that was used from 1997 to 2011 in the SK8 studio complex in Kavczyk Khori for news broadcasting.
The exhibition is examined with a guide who explains and shows visitors how the studio works. Guests can try the roles of news announcer, meteorologist, cameraman and director. Other visitors peek into the studio through a glass wall from an adjacent corridor, where text panels and an interactive monitor provide interesting information.
Printing routes
The history of printing, associated with the production of books, magazines, newspapers and print media, occupies a special place in the Czech Republic. Using the presented machines and equipment, visitors to the exhibition have the opportunity to get acquainted with the development of basic printing technologies from antiquity to the present.
The appropriate place was allocated to the Czechs Yakub Gusnik and Karel Klich, who, with their inventions, had a significant influence on the development of printing. Collections include a hand-made press from a Jesuit printing house in Prague at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries, a 1876 MAN disk rotary press made for the governor's press in Prague. This is the first car of this type used in the Czech Republic and one of the few surviving in Europe.
Part of the exhibition is designed in the form of a workshop where you can practically try individual printing operations or create graphic works. Painting courses are also held here. Museum staff have prepared games for children that reveal the secrets of old printing techniques.
Tourists reviews
For 110 years, the National Technical Museum in Prague has been visited by many millions of citizens and foreign tourists. 14 impressive permanent exhibits based on science, located on six above ground and three underground floors.
Such a magnificent collection of historical instances of the technological achievement of mankind, wisely interspersed in the exposition of our time, could not leave anyone indifferent. Many visitors are happy to share their reviews:
- This beautifully restored and child-friendly museum is dedicated to interesting aspects of science, technology and industry.
- The best museum for families, it is offered to all guests of the city when it is recommended where to go in Prague.
- After the reconstruction, convenient interactive displays appeared that help visitors to cover numerous collections of expositions.
- The collection is huge, includes six floors of transport, architecture and civil engineering, printing, mining, astronomy, watchmaking, a photography hall and household appliances.
- The outstanding transport gallery occupies the entire rear of the building with a triple-height exhibition hall filled with bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trains, airplanes suspended from the ceiling, and even a balloon depicting the history of developments in the Czech transportation industry.
- The printing gallery imitates an outdated printing house with printing blocks, printing presses of different periods, newspaper and binding machines and talks about the role of printed material in the development of the country's national identity.
The National Technical Museum is the place where the most significant inventions in Czechoslovakia over the past century are documented. It challenges the prejudices in society about the alleged lack of relevance of technical exhibitions, on the contrary, demonstrates how important they are for understanding the technological progress of mankind in the multifaceted nature of life.