Muzeum lidových staveb v Kouřimi, Open-air folk architecture museum in Kouřim, Czech Republic

Muzeum lidových staveb v Kouřimi is an open-air museum that brings together traditional farmhouses and agricultural buildings from different parts of the Czech Republic. The collection includes homes, barns, and other structures from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries that offer insights into rural life.

Founded in 1972 by the Regional Museum in Kolín as a rescue museum for buildings from the Švihov reservoir flood zone, it opened in 1976. The concept soon widened to all of Bohemia, then narrowed again after 1990. A restitution claim in 1992 halted expansion until a 2012 agreement; the site became a national cultural monument in 1996.

The buildings come from different regions of the Czech Republic and show how people in rural areas lived over several centuries. You can see how traditional craftsmanship and local materials shaped each structure.

The grounds occupy an old orchard, and the buildings stand on grassy paths rather than paved walkways, so wear sturdy shoes. The site is a cultural monument of the Czech Republic, and several structures are still being restored or rebuilt, so some may be closed off. Allow a couple of hours to walk the whole circuit.

The first building moved here, in 1972, was a nine-sided timber barn with a steep medieval-type roof covered in thatch, brought from farm no. 7 in Durdice near Votice and dated 1648. Its polygonal plan and high roof set it apart from the rectangular barns around it.