PRAGUE HEART OF EUROPE

Pardubice Chateau
The Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Pardubice

Zámek č.p. 2, 530 02 Pardubice
Tel.: 466 799 240, fax: 466 513 056
e-mail: vcm@vcm.cz, www.vcm.cz
Open all year round, every day except Mo. from 10.00 to 18.00, Possibility to book a viewing in the evening.

 

The origins of today's chateau are dated by archaeological findings from the end of the 13th century. The original castle went through a few reconstructions. The most marked ones were implemented at the end of the 15th and at the beginning of the 16th century by noblemen from Pernštejn, which created an intermediate style somewhere between a castle and a chateau. The Pernštejns rebuilt the whole complex of the castle into a palace, which was suitable for all the demands of the pervading renaissance period. Around the palace and its court, they constructed a new massive fortification. In 1560 the king bought the chateau from the Pernštejns and the aristocratic settlement was becoming more and more influenced by the commercial interests of the manor's custody. In spite of this, valuable remains of early renaissance mural paintings, panel ceilings and other architectural elements were maintained in the palace. Today, the chateau is the seat of the East-Bohemian Museum.

 

NOTICE: Friday, January 1, 2010 open from 1 pm.

 

Permanent exhibitions:

The Knights’ Halls of Pardubice Chateau; Exhibition of Czech glass creation; Orbis pictus exhibition of postcards; Exhibition of weapons; Numismatic exhibition Money in Bohemia 1520 – 1620; Nature of the Eastern Polabí Region; Toy exhibition “Once upon a Time”.
The chateau’s state rooms can also be used for social events, wedding ceremonies, etc. Most of the spaces open to the general public have disabled access.
The museum stages occasional short-term exhibitions, lectures in history, travelogues and natural science lectures, supplemented by colour film and slide projections for the general public.

 

Exhibitions:

 

• THE MAGIC OF GLASS (extended until January 10, 2010)
  Beránek Glassworks in Škrdlovice 1940–2008
  The exhibition will introduce the production of this prominent glassworks, which at the beginning of the 1950s stood at the birth of a new conception of Czech metallurgically shaped glass and which was forced to end – after 68 years of existence – its activity in September 2008. Its founder, Emanuel Beránek, a legendary creator of metallurgical glass in his own right, cooperated purposefully with leading Czech glass designers: Kotík, Velíšková, Kopecký, J. Žertová, Vízner, Libenský, Exnar and many other artists.
  Part of the gold collection of the modern history of Czech glass, the products of the Škrdlovice glassworks reflect the fascinating possibilities of the shaping of glowing flowing substance and the perfect craftsmanship of glass workers. Emphasis will be placed especially on a new large acquisition of the museum collection – a collection of exhibits from the glassworks’ stock of samples from the 1950s to the present. The exhibition will also include a diorama featuring the authentic environment of the Škrdlovice glassworks with numerous instruments and moulds and forms. In connection with the exhibition visitors will have a unique opportunity to purchase many of the last impressive glass products from the glassworks’ closed stock of samples for production prices.

 

• A DOG’S LIFE (until January 10, 2010)
  Thanks to cooperation with numerous institutions a unique presentation of the story of cynology, past and present, from the early days of the domestication of dogs and the Middle Ages to the early 21st century, has been prepared. Archaeological finds from the Roman period, artefacts documenting the position of dogs at aristocratic courts, interesting literature on the theme of cynology, records, photographs and a range of other extraordinary exhibits.

 

• ALL ARE RUNNING TO BETHLEHEM (until January 31, 2010, the first floor of the chateau)
  Box Nativity Scene, small figures and postcards on the theme of the birth of the Infant Jesus.

 

• VIRGIN FORESTS (January 9 – February 28, 2010, exhibition passage by the Knights’ Halls of the Pardubice Chateau)
  Providing a detailed insight into a typical virgin rainforest in South-east Asia, the exhibition at the same time shows other unique virgin forest complexes throughout the world. Part of the project is a Greenpeace touring display entitled “Seven Wonderful Virgin Forests”.
  Through blow-ups of photographs from Indonesia by Vladimír Lemberk, visitors will be pulled into the heart of the jungle, receiving at the same time a lot of important information concerning the functioning of the whole complex eco-system, its inhabitants and partially also the people who live in virgin forests and exploit them. Linking up, the second part of the display reveals the fact that the term “virgin forest” means more than just the colourful world of tropical areas; they exist in all geographical zones, from North America to Africa to snow-covered Siberia.

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THE JINDŘICHŮV HRADEC CASTLE AND CHATEAU

Dobrovského 1/I., 377 01 Jindřichův Hradec

• Tel. 384 321 279
• E-mail: zamek@j-hradec.cz, www.zamekjh.cz
• Open:
  • IV. and X. 9 am - 4 pm (excluding Mondays)
  • V. to IX. 9 am - 5 pm (excluding Mondays)
• In other months, only for pre-booked groups

This monument in south-eastern Bohemia is the third most extensive monumental building in the Czech Republic. There are 350 rooms here, in some of which you can admire almost 10 thousand pieces of art. The site was originally settled in the 11th century. The initial fortified settlement was replaced in the 13th century with an early gothic castle which was gradually expanded and came to be dominated by a massive cylindrical tower. In the 16th century, the castle was supplemented with a new area - Adam's Building - and it became a renaissance seat with a unique garden rondel which is an example of advanced European architecture in the mannerist style. It is possible to take three tours at the state castle and chateau in Jindřichův Hradec. The first tour (Adam's Building) offers examples of chateau rooms in the style of the renaissance, the baroque, the rococo, Empiricism and classicism. The work entitled „Joseph of Egypt makes himself known to his brothers“ by the Czech baroque painter Petr Brandl is also of note. One of the most valuable works is the early gothic fresco depicting the Legend of Saint George dating from 1338. It is part of the second tour circuit which includes the period of the early gothic. The third tour circuit is dedicated to the last owners of the estate - the Černín family.

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Museum of Jindřichův Hradec Region

160 km south of Prague

Balbínovo nám. 19/I, 377 01 Jindřichův Hradec

• Phone: 384 363 660 fax: 384 361 576
• E-mail: muzeum@esnet.cz, www.muzeum.esnet.cz

The St. John the Baptist Church is closed, groups of over 10 people can book the viewing in advance at the museum ticket office

The museum was established in 1882 and is one of the oldest regional museums in Bohemia . The museum is located in a Renaissance building of a former Jesuit seminary and offers visitors many valuable exhibitions, for example, a valuable collection of gothic sculptural arts, a collection of dartboard weapons together with a collection of hand-painted dartboards, the unique interior of the historical U Panny Marie Pomocné pharmacy from the late 18 th century and others. The Hall of Ema Destinnová reminds visitors of the stormy destiny of the most important Czech opera primadonna (1878 – 1930), who lived at her nearby Chateau in Stráž nad Nežárkou upon finishing her excellent singing career at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Club of Ema Destinnová operates at the museum. The club contributes to the popularization of this famous personality both here and abroad.

Undoubtedly, the most famous exhibit of the museum is Krýzovy Jesličky – the world’s biggest mechanical folk nativity scene, to be found in the Guinness Book of Records. Tomáš Krýza (1838 – 1918) worked on the nativity scene for over 60 years. His work contains 1,398 figures of people and animals, of which 133 move.

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