Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague, Decorative arts museum in Josefov district, Prague, Czech Republic.
The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague is a Neo-Renaissance building in the Old Town district, housing collections of glass, ceramics, prints, photography, metalwork, textiles, and toys. The objects come from European applied crafts and are arranged across several gallery rooms on multiple floors.
The museum was founded in 1885 by the Chamber of Commerce and Trade, and moved to its current building in 1900, designed by architect Josef Schulz. The building is itself a good example of Czech historicist architecture from the turn of the century.
The galleries display everyday objects such as glass, ceramics, and textiles made by craftspeople across many periods. Walking through the rooms, visitors can see how taste and craft tradition shifted over time.
The museum sits near the Jewish Quarter and is easy to reach on foot from the Old Town. Allow a few hours to go through the collections, as they are spread across several floors.
The museum holds a group of roughly 400 objects known as the Karlstein Treasure, found during repairs at Karlstein Castle in the 1880s and linked to the reign of Charles IV. This discovery is considered one of the most important finds of medieval goldsmithing in Bohemia.
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