Present at the establishment of the Jewish Museum in Prague in 1906 were the historian Dr. Hugo Lieben and Dr. Augustin Stein, the representative of the Czech Jewish movement and later head of the Prague Jewish Community. The original aim was to preserve valuable artefacts from the Prague synagogues that had been demolished during the reconstruction of the Jewish Town at the beginning of the 20th century. The Museum was closed to the public after the Nazi occupation of Bohemia and Moravia on 15 March 1939. In 1942 the Nazis established the Central Jewish Museum, to which were shipped artefacts from all the liquidated Jewish communities and synagogues of Bohemia and Moravia. Its founding was proposed by Dr. Stein who, in co-operation with other specialist members of staff, sought to save the Jewish objects that were being conficated by the Nazis. Following long negotiations, the Nazis approved the project to set up a central museum, albeit guided by different motives than the Museum´s founders.After World War II, the Jewish Museum came under the administration of the Council of Jewish Communities in Czechoslovakia. In 1950, ownership was transferred to the State, which, as of 1948, was in the hands of the communists. As a result, the Museum was markedly restricted in its preservation, exhibition and educational activities.The collapse of the communist regime in 1989 created the necessary conditions that led to a
change in the Museum´s status. On October 1, 1994, the Museum buildings and collections were returned to the Jewish Community of Prague and the Federation of Jewish Communities in the Czech Republic respectively. At the same time, the Jewish Museum took on new life as a non-state organization
The Czech Museum of Fine Arts, Prague (originally the Mid-Bohemian Gallery), was founded in 1963 as a regional gallery of the Central Bohemian Region, and formed part of a network of state galleries in what was then Czechoslovakia.
Gottland is built in Jevany in a villa which Karel Gott obtained already in 1969. At present time, Karel Gott lives in his villa at Bertramka in Prague.
The world´s first Mucha Museum, dedicated to the life and work of the world-acclaimed Czech ART NOUVEAU artist Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), is housed in the Baroque Kaunický Palace in the very heart of Prague.
The National Museum is the biggest museum in the Czech Republic. It is the central State museum with collecting, scientific, educational and methodical functions. Its purpose is to contribute to the development of the national identity as well as to the feeling of belonging to the wider complex of the European and world community and culture. It is a polythematic institute which covers many scientific disciplines and areas of collecting, ranging from natural sciences up to the specialised fields of social sciences. It consists of five specialised institutes: The Natural History Museum, The Historical Museum, The National Museum Library, The Náprstek Museum of Asian, African and American Cultures (a part of the National Museum since 1932), The Czech Music Museum (a part of the National Museum since 1984) and two sections for maintenance and operation (the Department for Economic Operation, the Section for Central Collection-Building and Exhibition Activity).
The Military History Institute in Prague is a military institution, governed by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic. The Military History Institute consists of the headquarters and three specialized departments (the museum and administration department with the restoration section, the history and documentation department that manages also the military history library, and the operational/economic department. The research activities focus particularly on the issues of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd resistance, and the personal issues of top military personalities. The Czech and Czechoslovak militarism, especially in the 20th century, is subject to the thorough and long-term research.
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