<Muzeum paměti XX. století> will open a permanent exhibition next year

Prague - The Museum of Memory of the 20th Century is set to move to its new location in the House of Pages on Kanovnická Street in Prague Castle this autumn. The permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of the 20th century is expected to open in 2026. It will be interactive and playful to engage schoolchildren. The museum's director, Petr Blažek, told reporters today. The museum currently does not have a permanent location.

The House of Pages has been undergoing reconstruction since the beginning of last year to meet the museum's needs. The renovations were originally scheduled to be completed in the spring of this year, but work was delayed due to archaeological research. The reconstruction is expected to cost 70 million Czech koruna. The Museum of the 20th Century was established by the Prague City Hall in 2019 as a registered institution, tasked with commemorating the crimes of totalitarian regimes in the Czech lands.

"It turned out that the archaeological research conducted in the 1970s only existed on paper, which is why this research is very extensive. The site where the House of Pages stands is among the oldest inhabited places in today's Prague. There are remains from the Neolithic period and very valuable evidence of life in the Middle Ages," said Blažek. Among the findings, in addition to coins, fragments of pottery, and other objects, is a medieval cellar that no one knew about until now.

He mentioned that the future museum building has a completed new roof, the interior is finished, and the floors are being completed. At the same time, technological installations for the permanent exhibition are being prepared. Many parts of it will be interactive and playful to attract children. The museum expects that school trips will be frequent visitors to the exhibition. "Schools will have space for historical education, which does not require so much space in teaching. The exhibition will be adjusted to allow for an alternative tour route tailored directly to the needs of schools," Blažek stated.

The exhibition will also include several replicas of interrogation rooms. According to the museum director, these should allow visitors to empathize with the situation of the victims of the communist regime.

Although the museum currently does not have a permanent location, it organizes exhibitions, conferences, and is preparing the 6th edition of the film festival Unbroken and Sacrificed this year. It will take place from November 4 to 7. This year, the museum will publish two new books, which will be presented to the public on February 25. One will be dedicated to the so-called Little House, a military prison in Hradčany used by the StB. The second publication describes the history of Germans in Czechoslovakia.

The establishment of the museum was approved by Prague councillors in September 2019, and it formally came into existence on November 17, 2019, for the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution.