Lapidary of the National Museum, Stone sculpture museum in Holešovice, Prague, Czech Republic
The Lapidary of the National Museum is a stone sculpture museum in Holešovice containing approximately 400 permanent works, architectural fragments, and tombs distributed across eight exhibition halls. The collection spans multiple periods and provides insight into the history of stone carving in Bohemia.
The museum was founded in 1905 and preserves stone sculptures from the 11th century, including original Gothic statues from Charles Bridge Tower. The collection documents artistic traditions spanning over 900 years of Prague's sculptural history.
The collection displays works by renowned sculptors Matthias Bernard Braun and Ferdinand Maximilian Brokoff, representing different periods of Bohemian stone carving tradition. These pieces show how artistic styles and techniques evolved across the centuries in the region.
The museum offers seasonal exhibitions with guided tours, educational programs, and workshops focused on stone sculpture and architectural history. A visit works best when you take time to explore the different themes across the individual halls.
The collection includes tombstones from demolished Prague cemeteries and Romanesque fragments from the original Saint Vitus basilica of the 11th century. These works tell stories of lost buildings and sacred sites that visitors cannot see elsewhere.
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