The Lapidarium is a

lapidarium A lapidarium is a place where stone (Latin: ) monuments and fragments of archaeological interest are exhibited. They can include stone epigraphy, epigraphs; statues; architectural elements such as columns, cornices, and acroterions; bas relief ...

and a part of the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

. It is the largest permanent exhibition of historical collections of stone sculpture, tombs and architectonical fragments originating from

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, mostly from Prague.

History

In 1839,

František Palacký František Palacký (; 14 June 1798 – 26 May 1876) was a Czech historian and politician. He was the most influential person of the Czech National Revival, called "Father of the Nation". Life František Palacký was born on 14 June 1798, at ...

, an early supporter of the

, advocated for collecting stone monuments and artifacts. In 1898, the precursor to the Lapidarium, the Exhibition of Monuments of Old Architecture and Exhibition of Architecture and Engineering, was held at the

Výstaviště Praha Výstaviště in Prague is an exhibition ground which is used for exhibitions, concerts and other cultural events, founded in 1891. It is located in Bubeneč near the metro station on Metro line C Nádraží Holešovice. In the immediate are ...

. The exhibition's building was designed by architect

Antonín Wiehl Antonín Wiehl (26 April 1846 – 4 November 1910) was a Czech architect, museum official and patron of the arts. He helped create the first system of historic preservation in Bohemia. Biography Antonín Wiehl was born on 26 April 1846 in Plasy ...

for the 1891 world's fair held in Prague and continues to house the museum today. The first permanent exhibition in the Lapidarium was held in 1905. The museum closed from 1914 to 1932 due to

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The museum again closed from 1939 to 1954 because of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The museum closed from 1967 to 1993 for renovations. The Lapidarium houses valuable stone sculptures dating from the 11th to the early 20th century. The museum has a collection of around 2,000 artefacts, 400 of which are on permanent display in eight halls of approximative area of 1,300 square meters.

Collections

Romanic and the early Gothic period

The oldest Romanic fragments from the crypt of St. Vitus basilica are dated to the late 11th century. Romanic stove tiles decorated with reliefs of lion, gryphon, sphinx or emperor Nero come from basilika on Prague-Vyšehrad. Eight tombstones with engraved figures of abbots as well as various architectural fragments of 11th to 13th century originate from the Benedictine abbey Ostrov (Insula), founded in 999 on the river Vltava near Prague and destroyed in 15th century; nearly 900 fragments were gained from the archaeological excavations in 1932.

High and Late Gothic period

Six original gothic statues from the Charles Bridge Tower (Emperor Charles IV, his son King Wenceslas IV, patron saints Vitus, Adalbert of Prague, Sigismundus and a lion can be seen here among others.

Renaissance

The Krocin's water fountain cut of rose marble comes from

Old Town Square Old Town Square ( or colloquially , ) is a historic square in the Old Town quarter of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. It is located between Wenceslas Square and Charles Bridge. Buildings The square features buildings belonging t ...

. It was moved to the museum between 1911 and 1914. Several tombstones come from destroyed Prague cemeteries.

Hall of the Virgin Mary Pest Column

Fragments of Virgin Mary Immaculata among four archangels fighting with dragons, five statues of sandstone made by

Johann Georg Bendl Johann-Georg Bendl (; before 1620 – 27 May 1680 in Prague), or Jan Jiří Bendl (), was a Bohemian Baroque sculptor, who worked mainly in Prague. He was the son of fellow sculptor Georg Bendl (–1656) and is considered the first important Boh ...

for the Old Town Square in Prague in 1650 after the idea of Emperor Ferdinand III (''Maria Victoria'') and destroyed by anarchists in 1918.

Hall of the Charles Bridge

Seven original baroque groups of statues include the largest monuments: ''Ecstase of sainte Ludgardis'', made by Matthias Bernard Braun, ''St Francis Xaverius baptising Indians'' and ''The Apotheose of St Ignatius of Loyola'' by Ferdinand Maxmilian Brokoff, which fell into the river in 1890 and was never recovered.

Hall of the Bohemian high Baroque style

It houses the first statue of the Bohemian patron saint Wenceslas, made by Johann Georg Bendl in 1680 for the Horse Market (later Wenceslas Square). Another St Wenceslas statue shows the saint picking wine grapes for Holy mass. Six statues of saints comes from the facade of St Gallus Church. Two statues were made for Loretto Church in Prague - Hradčany.

Hall of the Rococo style and Historicism

Rococo is represented before all by a set of allegorical statues from the garden of a summer palace America projected by Kilian Ignac Dienzenhofer. Statues made by Ignac Platzer originate from the

Palais Kinsky Palais Kinsky is a Baroque palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name pal� ...

in Prague.

Hall of Habsburg' Emperors

Monuments of the Austrian emperors: Equestrian statue of Francis I and standing figure of

Franz Joseph I Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

were cast from brass for public spaces, as well as the monument of Field Marshal Joseph V. Radetzky von Radeč. Many of these monuments came to the Lapidarium after the World War I when reminders of the old Austro-Hungarian monarchy were removed from public space by the new republican authorities. Busts of

and his wife, Elisabeth (called ''Sisi'') of white marble sculpted by

Antonín Pavel Wagner Antonín Pavel Wagner (3 July 1834 in Dvůr Králové nad Labem – 27 January 1895 in Vienna) was a Czech sculptor who spent most of his career in Vienna. Life and work His family was involved in the textile industry. After completing secondar ...

in 1891 were moved after the general reconstruction back to the Pantheon of the National Museum (opened in September 2019).

Awards

In 1995, the Lapidarium was named one of the ten most beautiful museum exhibitions in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

.The Lapidarium - Even stone has its language , Prague.net
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References

External links

* {{Authority control Museums in Prague Collection of the National Museum in Prague Sculptures in Prague Outdoor sculptures in Prague Baroque sculptures Gothic sculptures