Exposition in the main museum building
A new permanent exposition, "Litomyšl – a town of culture and education", presents the rich history of the town from its very beginnings to the present day. Here you will find a number of unique artefacts, items of interest, curiosities and accompanying programmes. The exposition is sure to interest everyone, from culture tourists to families with children.
Opening hours are here.
In the main building you can find also area for short-term thematic exhibitions.
A printed guide in English is available to visitors of the permanent exposition.
The permanent exposition is thematically divided into nine parts:
Castle Hill
The cellar area of this protected building is home to some unique remains of
an uncovered road, castle walls, a gateway and a burgher house from the 14th - 17th
centuries, all discovered during archaeological work. The exposition that follows on
from this presents the remarkable building development of Castle Hill in Litomyšl
– from monastery to bishopric, from castle and new town, castle complex and original
Piarist buildings to the present – using models and a documentary film.
Cabinet of Older History
The Cabinet of History of Litomyšl and the surrounding area from prehistory to
the revolution in 1848 – with a wealth of information about, for example, the
bishopric in Litomyšl or the House of Pernštejn, the founders of the modern castle
here and the Piarist college.
Liber viaticus – the travel breviary of Jan ze Středy,
Bishop of Litomyšl and chancellor to Charles IV. (replica)
This breviary, made sometime around the year 1360, is one of the most attractive medieval illuminated
manuscripts in the Czech lands, containing songs for religious feasts throughout the year.
Chorus book of the Literati choir from 1563
The hymnbook of the Literati choir in Litomyšl contains Czech Utraquist songs for various times
in the church calendar, feasts, saint’s days and so on. It was used by Catholics from the
year 1620 onwards, after they had removed any "objectionable" songs.
The executioner’s sword from 1620
The richly-decorated sword used by the executioner in Litomyšl was evidently made in 1620
and modified in 1687. The sword was used on Gallows Hill in Litomyšl to behead two of
the four leaders of the peasant’s uprising in 1680.
The fire of Litomyšl in 1735
Litomyšl suffered repeatedly from great fires – for example in 1460, 1546, 1560, 1635,
1735, 1775 or 1814. They made the town famous – in 18th century Bohemia used to be a
proverb – "it burns like Litomyšl". The fire of 31st August 1735 destroyed 149 houses
and many other buildings.
Painting of Frebonie z Pernštejna
The founder of the Piarist monastery and schools in Litomyšl died a spinster in 1646,
her death ending the celebrated history of the House of Pernštejn, builders of the local
castle that is now a registered UNESCO site.
Cabinet of Natural Sciences and Technology
The cabinet tells of the fine printing tradition in Litomyšl and of prominent
local scientists. Individual sections are devoted to disciplines such as zoology,
physics or astronomy.
The Florus Stašek daguerreotype apparatus from 1840 –
the oldest camera in the Czech Republic
This device was used by Florus Stašek, rector of the local Piarist college, a mere
one year after the invention of daguerreotype – the first practically-used photographic
process.
The Portman binding press
Printer Josef Portman (1893–1968) created a total of 312 titles. Almost half are unique
artefacts that were literally created letter-by-letter. Others, published in a few dozen
copies, he printed on a hand press. Portman was helped with decoration by people such
as Jan Konůpek, Josef Čapek and Josef Váchal. Their printing blocks and Portman’s
prints are also on display.
The Křižík arc lamp
Emperor Franz Joseph I visited Litomyšl in 1889 during military manoeuvres. The town
was ceremonially lit with, among other, arc lamps made by František Křižík. A working
replica of this unique historical light is on display in the exposition.
The USA flag that went to the Moon (replica)
A flag taken to the Moon and back by the Apollo 16 expedition in 1972. The flag was
then presented to Zdeněk Kopal, a native of Litomyšl and the most prominent Czech
astronomer of the 20th century, together with a dedication from the astronauts as
thanks for compiling detailed maps of the Moon for cosmic flights in the Apollo programme.
Cabinet of Geography
A cabinet devoted to maps, atlases and period knowledge about the world. The dominant
feature is Müller’s map of Bohemia from 1722, which is three metres wide and two and
a half metres high.
Müller’s map of Bohemia from 1722
Military engineer Jan Kryštof Müller measured out a map of Bohemia for a full five
years. The man responsible for the rich ornamentation, Václav Vavřinec Reiner, depicted
Prague and allegories of Czech rivers and trades in the corners of the map. It took
two years to make the 25 copper plates used to print the map.
Cabinet of Ethnography
The part of the exposition dedicated to the rural areas of Litomyšl and folk art.
Worthy of note are the colourful reverse glass paintings, the ornate decoration of folk
costumes and the fragility of products from glassworks in the Vysočina region.
One inseparable part of the cabinet is its costume room with replicas of 19th
century clothing.
Reverse glass paintings
The production of religious reverse glass paintings in the Czech lands became popular
in specialised workshops mainly at the end of the 18th century. Peasants used them
to decorate the insides of their homes – paintings on glass were placed above the
bench at the table, in what was known as the holy corner.
Painted screen from 1804
Screens were used to separate the bed used by a woman in the six weeks after giving
birth from the rest of the room. Their use in the Litomyšl area is quite unique
– elsewhere, a canvas was used for the same purpose. This screen has an unusual
painting on the back – a soldier on guard duty.
Traditional dress from Litomyšl area from the 19th century
Traditional dress came in two forms – everyday wear and ceremonial attire.
Inspiration for the ceremonial attire was taken from the clothing worn in high
society. Traditional clothing changed from generation to generation, although
a number of archaic elements were retained.
Cabinet of Modern History
A cabinet that captures events in Litomyšl and the life of the town from the middle of the 19th
century to the recent past.
Litomyšl Heaven
A fictitious reconstruction of a celebration attended by prominent Czech personalities
linked to Litomyšl – composer Bedřich Smetana, painters Julius Mařák and Václav Boštík,
writers Božena Němcová, Teréza Nováková, M. D. Rettigová and Alois Jirásek and
scientists Zdeněk Nejedlý and H. G. Schauer. Unique items once owned by these people
can be seen on display here.
Uniform of the riflemen of Litomyšl
The riflemen officially became an armed corps in 1836, although they had been active
here before that. Their task was to ensure security in the town if required. Most often,
however, they took part in social events and their brass band was particularly popular
with the people.
Bicycle made by Vorbach in Pardubice
One of the oldest preserved Czech bicycles and the oldest known product made by Vilém
Vorbach (1880s). A Cycling Club was founded in Litomyšl in 1886 and a special licence
was originally required to cycle around the town.
Poster for the first Smetana’s Litomyšl festival by Karel Svolinský
The establishment of what is now the Smetana’s Litomyšl International Opera Festival
in 1949 was one of the biggest events in the modern history of the town. Then Minister
of Education, Science and Art Zdeněk Nejedlý and a number of local culture employees
were responsible for the creation of the event.
The ESO 500 racing motorcycle from 1950
One of the types of motorcycle that drivers rode during races in Litomyšl. A total
of twenty motorcycle or motor races were staged in the town and its surroundings
between 1947 and 1977, some with the participation of foreign drivers or riders.
Rector František A. Stříteský in a painting by Bohdan Kopecký, 1983
After taking power, the communists began their oppressive persecution of people deemed
to be troublesome. Two staged court cases were held in Litomyšl in 1950, in one of which
rector of the Piarist college František Ambrož Stříteský was convicted along with some
students. He spent ten years in prison.
Cabinet of Collecting and Curiosities
The cabinet presents interesting (and distinctive) personalities, collectors from
Litomyšl, the American Litomysl and a whole range of curiosities, most commonly from
the collections of Quido Šimek.
Display case holding examples of the collections of Quido Šimek
Quido Šimek (1857–1933) was a merchant, sketcher, chronicler and collector from Litomyšl,
co-founder of the town museum, the owner of a private museum and quite a joker.
You can admire the pictures of Litomyšl as he remembers it from his youth in various
parts of the exposition. A selection of Šimek collections of curiosities is on
display in the original case.
The American Litomysl
The second half of the 19th century saw some, mainly poorer, inhabitants of the Czech
lands leave to different lands, mainly the USA, Serbia and Russia, in search of their
fortunes. And so it was that a little village called Litomysl was created in the American
state of Minnesota.
The Target Shooting Society
The old target shooting society was one of the most prominent societies in Litomyšl during the 19th century.
Painted targets
The winners of shooting competitions had painted targets made as souvenirs,
mainly ordering them from local artists. The motifs were wide-ranging indeed, including
various proverbs, allegories of human characteristics and genre-based scenes.
Lapidarium
This viewing depository holds hundreds of architectural elements from buildings
in Litomyšl dating from the 13th to the 20th centuries. Selected artefacts are on
display at the front and around the museum building.
Inscriptional plaque from the lower gateway in Litomyšl
The Latin inscription on the plaque from 1536 refers to Bohuš Kostka z Postupic,
owner of the Litomyšl dominion, who financed the reconstruction of the town gate
in the year in question.
Accompanying programmes
Exposition for children "Please come in"
A miniature square with houses occupied by prominent people from the long history of
the town of Litomyšl.
The costume room
The costume room at the Cabinet of Ethnography, where visitors can try on
traditional folk costumes and town clothing from the 19th century.
The Past Lives Game – Under the Old Monarchy
One feature of the Cabinet of Modern History is a game that allows everyone to try
for themselves life as it would have been had they been born in 1865, under the rule
of Emperor Franz Joseph I.
Historical films about Litomyšl
At the end of the tour, you might like to rest for a while and watch one of a
selection of films about Litomyšl of your own choice.
Old expositions of the Litomyšl museum
Fotogallery of the old expositions of the Litomyšl museum could be viewed here.
