A Museum of the World could be established above the tracks of Prague's main train station

Prague – A team created by the management of the National Museum (NM) in Prague is developing a concept for a multimedia museum of world cultures, which they have tentatively named the Museum of the World – Museum Mundi. It could be established in the place where the platforms of the main train station are covered. Investors have previously stated that a public benefit building should be built there. Representatives of the NM have already informed the Ministry of Culture about the plans and are beginning negotiations on the conditions for the project's implementation. In an optimal scenario, construction could start within seven years. This was reported to ČTK by the general director of the National Museum in Prague, Michal Lukeš.

"Probably, no new museum building has been constructed in Prague since the establishment of the National Technical Museum. If we really want a quality museum with collection items and to present the world innovatively, we cannot do that in the existing spaces," said Lukeš. "We want to offer a walk through life showing that people have many common traits such as birth, upbringing and childhood, relationship to time and space, home and housing, commerce, medicine, law and rights, government, conflict, funerals, and more. Based on that, we would build on diversity and difference. The motto would be 'Unity in Diversity.' We are looking for a way to present human civilization in a fresh manner," he added.

Collections of world culture are currently located in the Náprstek Museum of Asian, African, and American Cultures, which, however, does not have the capacity to meet the NM's plans and is currently undergoing reconstruction. "We started to think about a new concept for presenting collections of world culture and concluded that it is not possible to build the Museum of the World in its premises. It has visitor limits and exhibitions cannot fit there. Therefore, we believe that the Czech Republic deserves to build a new structure," stated Lukeš.

A team has already been formed within the NM tasked with creating new innovative content for the proposed Museum of the World. It comprises representatives from the Náprstek Museum, Charles University, the Academy of Sciences, and collaborates with ethnologist, anthropologist, and science journalist Martin Rychlík. The Prague City Hall announced at the end of June that it would begin addressing a change in the zoning plan, which, if approved, would allow for the covering of the main train station's platforms and construction above them.

"We are happy to support the idea of a new National Museum building. The space above the Vinohrady tunnels is really suitable for such a building due to its proximity to the so-called Museum Oasis; we anticipate that it will not be just a museum, but a place with great educational potential in relation to broadly understood education for the younger generation," stated Prague's Deputy for Urban and Strategic Development, Petr Hlaváček (STAN), to ČTK.

The request for a change in the zoning plan was submitted by CR-City, which is represented, among others, by Czech Railways and Penta. Some residents protested against the plan at the meeting, and some city councilors also disagree with the change.

"We believe this is an absolutely ideal location for our planned Museum of the World. The capacity of the existing National Museum building, which sometimes cannot cope with the influx of visitors, would be expanded. The Museum of the World could also host lectures, film screenings, and similar activities. There would be three National Museum buildings representing the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, with the possibility of underground connections. We would have themes of nature, history, and the world within them. This would create a large central museum complex linked to the main train station and the metro," said NM director Lukeš. According to him, this is the last opportunity to expand the museum on the existing site.