Consisting of little more than a room with a series of microscopes to look through, there can be few more impressively pointless museums than this celebration of the tiny in the Czech capital.
In some respects, however, the art on display in Prague’s Muzeum Miniatur is far more of an achievement than anything displayed in the great galleries. Who needs the Mona Lisa in the Louvre when you can get a picture of Jesus on a poppy seed? Why would anyone choose to vast collection of the Hermitage in St Petersburg, when they can upgrade to a portrait of Beethoven on an apple pip?
There are other such ludicrous masterpieces, featuring trains on a single hair, being passed through the eye of a needle or John Lennon.
But perhaps the most bizarre thing of all about this museum of frankly pointless art is that it is so understated. It’s essentially a medium-sized room with a sign outside, containing a few microscopes and magnifying glasses to look through.
There’s no fuss, no wild promotion, just a polite invitation to come in and have a look if you happen to be in the vicinity.
Getting to the Muzeum Miniatur in Prague
Nearest international airport: Prague’s international airport acts as the main entrance for foreign visitors into the Czech Republic.
By public transport: The Muzeum Miniatur is near Prague Castle – walkable from the city centre. The nearest metro station is Malastranska
More information: Muzeum Miniatur website
Showing posts with label Czech Republic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Czech Republic. Show all posts
Tuesday, 9 September 2008
Thursday, 4 September 2008
Alchemy Museum in Kutná Hora, Czech Republic
Turning base metals into gold is something that has occupied the minds and wallets of the rich and powerful for centuries, and it appears as though not everyone has given up on this pursuit entirely.
The Alchemy Museum, perched above the tourist information office in Kutná Hora, Czech Republic is quite clearly run by one of them. Dressed in garments more suited to a raving hippy than a serious scientist, he has put together a little darkened dungeon that explores the history and aims of alchemy. And it all looks a little bit like a mad scientist's laboratory.
We may mock now, but in times past it was held in as high regard as physics or chemistry. Visitors can learn about kings, dukes and princes that were obsessed with discovering the Elixir of Youth, as well as the meanings of Da Vinci Code-esque mumbo-jumbo like the Philosopher's Stone and Emerald Tablet.
Most of it is predictably unfathomable. After all, if richly-funded alchemists don't know what they're looking for, how are we supposed to know? However, it's a strangely fascinating jaunt through something most people thought died out a long time ago.
Better still, if visitors turn up when it's quiet (which is probably most days - the joint is hardly a major tourist draw), the curator will wander round the museum with them and spin all manner of unlikely stories.
Getting to Kutna Hora
Nearest international airport: Prague, Czech Republic.
Using public transport: It's around an hour on the bus from Prague. The Kutná Hora bus station is just to the north-east of the town's main square. That square is where visitors can find the Tourist Information Centre and Alchemy Museum.
More details: Kutna Horá Alchemy Museum Official Website
The Alchemy Museum, perched above the tourist information office in Kutná Hora, Czech Republic is quite clearly run by one of them. Dressed in garments more suited to a raving hippy than a serious scientist, he has put together a little darkened dungeon that explores the history and aims of alchemy. And it all looks a little bit like a mad scientist's laboratory.
We may mock now, but in times past it was held in as high regard as physics or chemistry. Visitors can learn about kings, dukes and princes that were obsessed with discovering the Elixir of Youth, as well as the meanings of Da Vinci Code-esque mumbo-jumbo like the Philosopher's Stone and Emerald Tablet.
Most of it is predictably unfathomable. After all, if richly-funded alchemists don't know what they're looking for, how are we supposed to know? However, it's a strangely fascinating jaunt through something most people thought died out a long time ago.
Better still, if visitors turn up when it's quiet (which is probably most days - the joint is hardly a major tourist draw), the curator will wander round the museum with them and spin all manner of unlikely stories.
Getting to Kutna Hora
Nearest international airport: Prague, Czech Republic.
Using public transport: It's around an hour on the bus from Prague. The Kutná Hora bus station is just to the north-east of the town's main square. That square is where visitors can find the Tourist Information Centre and Alchemy Museum.
More details: Kutna Horá Alchemy Museum Official Website
Sunday, 10 August 2008
Mendel Museum in Brno, Czech Republic
For a place with such huge significance, the Abbey of St Thomas in Brno, Czech Republic, is remarkably understated. It's arguably the birthplace of modern science.
The patch of grass outside once played host to the world’s most important greenhouse, while a small flower bed of red and white begonias demonstrates the scientific laws that were discovered there.
The man who put this loveable Augustinian abbey on the map was Gregor Mendel, the former abbot.
He was the monk who discovered the laws of genetic inheritance. So much has come as a result of this discovery – confirmation of Darwin’s evolutionary theory, many medical treatments, cloned sheep, the human genome project – that his name should be far better known.
The small museum by the begonia bed explores the importance of Mendel’s work, and tries to explain in layman’s terms how dominant and recessive alleles work.
It also goes into his life, and tells the extraordinary story of a monk from a European backwater who revolutionised the way we think about ourselves. His work was 99% drudgery – meticulously growing peas and logging their characteristics.
But from those humble garden peas came so much – and the Mendel Museum is a fascinating little diversion for any traveller visiting this part of Central Europe.
Getting to the Mendel Museum in Brno, Czech Republic
Nearest International Airport: Brno Turany airport receives a few international flights (usually the budget airlines such as Ryanair and Smart Wings), but most international visitors will fly into Prague then get the train. That said, Vienna (Austria) and Bratislava (Slovakia) are actually closer to Brno than Prague.
Using public transport: There are good train links to Brno from Prague, Bratislava and Vienna. Take tram number 1 from the central train station.
More information: Mendel Museum
The patch of grass outside once played host to the world’s most important greenhouse, while a small flower bed of red and white begonias demonstrates the scientific laws that were discovered there.
The man who put this loveable Augustinian abbey on the map was Gregor Mendel, the former abbot.
He was the monk who discovered the laws of genetic inheritance. So much has come as a result of this discovery – confirmation of Darwin’s evolutionary theory, many medical treatments, cloned sheep, the human genome project – that his name should be far better known.
The small museum by the begonia bed explores the importance of Mendel’s work, and tries to explain in layman’s terms how dominant and recessive alleles work.
It also goes into his life, and tells the extraordinary story of a monk from a European backwater who revolutionised the way we think about ourselves. His work was 99% drudgery – meticulously growing peas and logging their characteristics.
But from those humble garden peas came so much – and the Mendel Museum is a fascinating little diversion for any traveller visiting this part of Central Europe.
Getting to the Mendel Museum in Brno, Czech Republic
Nearest International Airport: Brno Turany airport receives a few international flights (usually the budget airlines such as Ryanair and Smart Wings), but most international visitors will fly into Prague then get the train. That said, Vienna (Austria) and Bratislava (Slovakia) are actually closer to Brno than Prague.
Using public transport: There are good train links to Brno from Prague, Bratislava and Vienna. Take tram number 1 from the central train station.
More information: Mendel Museum
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