The first exhibition in the former Federal Assembly already in September

Prague - Visitors will be able to view the first standalone exhibition in the former building of the Federal Assembly, which was taken over by the National Museum (NM) in June, starting on September 16. This is two months earlier than originally planned. NM director Michal Lukeš stated this to reporters today on the occasion of the launch of guided tours of the building. Regular tours about the history of the building will begin this Saturday at 10:00 and will last for two months.
    The classic museum operation will kick off in September with the exhibition of the Košice Golden Treasure, which, according to Lukeš, will showcase one of the largest and unique European gold treasures. It consists of about 2900 coins and has a total gold weight of 13 kilograms. Following this will be the previously announced exhibition Be Free! on November 17, marking the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Before the end of the year, an exhibition titled Olympians will be launched. Next year, the museum will present a display of Moravian collections entitled Treasures of Moravia.
    Before the exhibitions begin, people will have the chance to visit this building, from which Radio Free Europe moved out this year, as part of guided tours. These will have 16 stops, where interested parties can look into the former House of the People, where the division of Czechoslovakia was decided. According to Lukeš, visitors will learn about both the history of the building and the people who visited it, as well as the interesting artworks that adorn the building.
    Museum staff managed to establish a museum shop and a café in the ground floor of the building within two and a half months after the takeover, which is partially furnished with original furniture from the time of the Federal Assembly. For example, the chairs were previously located in parliamentary corridors. Visitors will also have access to a new children's corner and restrooms with a changing table.
    The new building of NM was supposed to receive a new name today, which was to come from a public competition. "We received 617 proposals. We spent a long time on it, but we didn’t select any," said Lukeš. People suggested names like Building of Historical Turning Point, Diamond House, Lighthouse of Freedom, but also Dinosaur, Box, or Monsterarium. The museum plans to publish all suggestions and ask the public once again to select several "finalists." NM wants to have a new name by November at the latest.
    NM plans to offer the building for cultural and commercial events, as long as they do not disrupt the operation of the museum, according to Lukeš. In October, the building will likely become the venue for the Movement Theatre Festival 4+4 Days in Motion. Festival organizers stated this today.
    The former headquarters of Radio Free Europe and the main building of the museum will be connected in the future by a 42-meter-long underground tunnel, which will cost about 50 million korunas to build. The construction will be part of a major reconstruction of the main building that will take place from 2011 to 2015, costing approximately 3.8 billion korunas, according to Lukeš. Currently, a selection process is underway for the designer of the reconstruction, and the final project could be ready by early next year, according to Lukeš.
    The building was constructed during the First Republic as the headquarters of the stock exchange, occupied by the Federal Assembly, the then Czechoslovak parliament, after 1948, and in 1995, the radio moved in. The original three-story building was expanded in the late 1960s by the addition of a fourth and fifth floor, designed by architect Karel Prager, which is supported by beams and protrudes into space. A few years ago, the building was declared a monument.
    According to Lukeš, Prager anticipated that the building would not serve the parliament forever and hoped for its cultural use. Therefore, according to the director, the building is well-suited for the needs of the museum, and there will be no need for major alterations.