The Hussite Museum is one of the most visited museums in the Czech Republic, but before the renovation and renewal works started in October 2008, its permanent Hussite exhibition had not been changed in 40 years. With €490,000 in support from the EEA Grants, the exhibition has now been renewed with modern exhibition techniques, including multimedia elements and interactivity. Through pictures, comics, film scenes, touch panels and audio guides, visitors can explore the history of the Hussite movement and its importance for Czech and European history and the identity of the modern Czech nation. The museum has been made accessible to disabled people, and explanatory texts are available in both Czech and English in order to attract foreign tourists.
The Hussite Movement
The Hussites were a Christian movement that followed the teachings of the Bohemian religious reformer Jan Hus (1369-1415), one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation. Hus was in the early 15th century rector of Charles University in Prague, and managed to infuriate the Roman Catholic Church by preaching against the church’s sale of indulgences, and encouraging students to reject the church’s wealth, corruption and hierarchical tendencies.
In 1414, Hus was condemned by the Roman Catholic Church and burned at the stake the following year. The Hussite movement assumed a revolutionary character as soon as it became publicly known that Hus had been executed. His death was by many regarded as a criminal act, and when news broke, disturbances directed primarily against the clergy and the monks broke out. In the aftermath, the knights and nobles of Bohemia and Moravia, who were in favour of church reform, sent a letter of protest condemning the execution to representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, and offered protection to those who were persecuted for their faith. More than a decade of religious warfare followed. These wars are today known as the Hussite Wars or the Bohemian Wars (1419-1434).
The movement promoted ideas such as freedom of religion and peaceful co-existence of various ethnic groups and nations, and the Hussite Era is widely taught during history classes in Czech schools.
The Hussite Museum is located in the gothic style Old Town Hall, dating back to the 15th century, in the centre of Tabor, where the more extreme followers of the Hussite movement had their stronghold. Here visitors can experience and learn more about the Hussite Movement and its historical roots and traditions.
Picture: Archeological exhibition in the basement. The photo is taken by Helena Benyskova, NMFA.