In Příchovice, there is a new museum of Jára Cimrman by Rajniš

Prichovice (Jablonecko) - The Czech fictional genius Jára Cimrman has finally gotten his museum in a region closely connected to his life. Over the weekend, it was opened in Prichovice in the Jizera Mountains. From the premises at U Čápa, one can see as far as Liptákov - although it is mostly shrouded in fog. Directly above the museum stands a lookout tower - the Lighthouse of Jára Cimrman. Due to the late onset of spring, it was not possible to complete it on time. Therefore, the entire area will be fully accessible to the public only after the tower is finished at the beginning of the summer holidays, said Aleš Voverka, co-owner of the area, to ČTK today.
    At the beginning, there was the idea to build a modern lookout tower as a contrast to the historical ones that grew in the Jizera Mountains at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. "But we wanted to offer visitors something more, and we didn't want to bring anything urban into this place," explained Voverka. According to him, the lookout tower was already prepared and was to be dedicated to Cimrman, when the idea arose to connect it with the museum. "For several years, we wanted to build a museum, but there was neither space nor money, and so everything fell into place," noted Kateřina Preusslerová from the Tanvald Micro-region, which collaborated on the museum's preparation.
    The construction of the museum and the Lighthouse began two years ago based on the project of architect Martin Rajniš and is a great example of the natural architecture typical for him. The building is half-embedded in the slope, clad with stone extracted from the site, and visually connects to the supporting walls that are all around. From the foundation rises the lookout tower itself made of pine and beech wood, anchored with steel cables. Its original construction is very airy and its silhouette resembles a lighthouse. The more than 27-meter-high structure perfectly blends into the hilly landscape of Prichovice near the historic building at U Čápa.
    Although the lighthouse could not be completed on time, with a third still remaining, the museum was opened today with the participation of a troupe from the Jára Cimrman Theatre. There is even the only preserved likeness of the supposed Cimrman. However, the bust was reportedly damaged during the steaming of hats, and the face is thus traditionally completely erased. The museum also contains numerous alleged inventions by Cimrman, while visitors can peek into the kitchen, classroom, workshop, or post office from the time when Cimrman is said to have lived in nearby Liptákov. "There are plenty of exhibits that locals donated to the museum," noted Václav Kotek from the Jára Cimrman Theatre, who was involved in the museum's inception.
    Jára Cimrman is a fictional character representing a universal Czech genius, created in the 1960s by Jiří Šebánek and Zdeněk Svěrák. A substantial part of the repertoire of the Žižkov Theatre of Jára Cimrman has been created based on the motives of his alleged life and work, including plays written in his name and "scientific" lectures. The most well-known authors of the plays are Ladislav Smoljak and Zdeněk Svěrák.