National Museum
The view of Prague's National Museum from the bottom of Wenceslas Square is one of the best-known images of the Czech capital. The majestic neo-Renaissance building houses rich collections of natural sciences (zoology, mineralogy, anthropology...) and history (prehistoric collections, numismatics...).
Like the National Theatre, the National Museum, designed by architect Josef Schulz, is one of the emblematic buildings of the 19th-century National Revival movement. Since its construction (1885-1891), it has witnessed major events in Czech history. The bullet-riddled facade of the Prague National Museum still bears the scars of the Soviet tanks that entered in 1968, bringing the Prague Spring to an abrupt halt.
Step inside the building: the collections it houses will tell you a whole different story, that of the Earth and Man, of animal and plant species...
The rich collections of natural sciences and history are presented in different sections where you can stroll to your heart's content.
The first level is devoted to prehistoric objects, where beautiful reconstructions bring the visit to life, followed by one of the world's finest collections of mineralogy, featuring precious and semi-precious stones, and finally numismatics. The second level features zoology (including a rich collection of fossils) and anthropology.
The National Museum is ideal for a family visit, and Prague locals are happy to explore its riches with their children. They encounter a gigantic mammoth stalked by a prehistoric hunter, anacondas and other predators from the terrestrial and marine worlds, including the immense skeleton of a whale.
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