National Museum in Prague

The National Museum (Národní muzeum) is the largest and most prominent museum institution in the Czech Republic, serving as a public repository for the nation's natural scientific and historical collections. Located at the upper end of Wenceslas Square in Prague, the museum encompasses a vast complex that includes the historic main building, the New Building (formerly the Federal Assembly), and various other exhibition spaces and storage facilities. The institution houses nearly 14 million items, covering a broad spectrum of Czech history, culture, and natural sciences, and functions as a central hub for research, education, and public engagement. Its mission extends beyond mere preservation, acting as a platform to assert national identity and make knowledge accessible to all inhabitants of the land, rather than just the nobility.

The museum was founded on April 15, 1818, by Count Kašpar Maria Šternberg, a prominent botanist and mineralogist who served as the first president of the Society of the Patriotic Museum. The seeds of the institution were sown earlier in the 1780s with the establishment of the Royal Bohemian Society of Learning, whose members donated items from their private galleries to form the core collection. Initially, the museum focused heavily on natural sciences due to Šternberg's expertise, only acquiring significant historical objects in the 1830s and 1840s. In 1949, the national government took over the museum, and its role was further detailed in the Museum and Galleries Act of 1959. The institution underwent a major reconstruction and reopened in October 2018, marking the bicentenary of its founding.