The exhibition at the government office commemorates the history of Straka Academy

Prague - In the garden of the government office, interested parties can view an exhibition on the history of the Straka Academy over the next three weekends in June. The exhibition was inaugurated today by the head of the government office, Pavel Dvořák. The building in which the cabinet meets originally served the Straka Academy, a foundation whose mission was to ensure education for impoverished nobility. This year marks the 240th anniversary of the academy's founding and the 120th anniversary of the construction of the Neo-Baroque building on the left bank of the Vltava. On this occasion, the government office building will be illuminated in the colors of the tricolor for the next four nights.

The idea of supporting impoverished nobility was inspired in the will of Count Jan Petr Straka of Nedabylic in 1710, while the academy itself was established later. The institution's premises were built according to the design of architect Václav Roštlapil in the former Jesuit garden from 1891 to 1896. "The building served as a dormitory for students, and teaching took place here as well. Subjects taught included fencing, French, swimming, drawing, horseback riding, and similar," said Tereza Pluskalová, the exhibition's author, to ČTK. Notable students of the Straka Academy included the interwar actor Theodor Pištěk.

After the outbreak of the First World War, the building served as a Red Cross hospital, and during the interwar period, various state institutions operated within it. During the occupation, it became the seat of the protectorate government, which had to vacate these premises for the Reich Court in 1942. From May 1945 until the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, it served the needs of the Czechoslovak government. It continues to serve as the seat of the government today.

The exhibition entitled "Fates of the Straka Academy" will be accessible for the next three weekends. It will then move to the opposite Alšovo nábřeží, where it will remain until July 25, and its journey will conclude in August and September in Nové Město nad Metují.