Prague gives the Museum of Memory of the 20th Century money to establish a permanent exhibition

Prague - The Prague City Hall will allocate 21 million crowns to the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century for the establishment of a permanent exhibition and additional equipment in the House of Pages in Hradčany, where the organization will be located after completing the reconstruction. So far, 11.5 million has been allocated in the budget for the exhibition, bringing the total amount for the museum to 32.5 million crowns. This decision was made by the council today. The Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century is a registered institution established by the capital city and aims to commemorate the crimes of totalitarian regimes in the Czech lands.

The mayor's deputy Jiří Pospíšil (TOP 09) stated that the House of Pages has already been reconstructed and is awaiting occupancy approval, after which it will open to the public at the turn of this year and next, although initially without a permanent exhibition. It will be titled Czechoslovakia and Totalitarianism and is expected to be completed in about a year. Until then, according to the deputy, there will be temporary exhibitions in the spaces, with the first focusing on the history and present of the Ďáblice Cemetery, where many victims of the Nazi and communist dictatorships are buried.

The future permanent exhibition, according to previous statements by the museum's director Petr Blažek, is designed to be interactive and playful, to engage schoolchildren, as school trips will make up a large portion of the visitors. Among other things, the exhibition will include a replica of an interrogation room. It is intended to allow visitors to empathize with the situation of the victims of the communist regime. The House of Pages will also feature a lecture hall for 80 people, a library, a recording room for podcasts, a research room, a reception, and a souvenir shop.

The reconstruction of the building began in January 2024 and was originally scheduled to be completed this spring, but work has been delayed due to archaeological research. The reconstruction is expected to cost 70 million crowns. In the past, the building housed, among other things, an orphanage, a nursery, and a youth technicians' station. Since the 1970s, it has housed the city architect's department.

The establishment of the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century was approved by Prague councilors in September 2019 and was formally created on November 17, 2019, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. Although it currently does not have a permanent home, the museum organizes exhibitions, conferences, and publishes materials in borrowed spaces.