Would you like to know how was the centre of the town illuminated at the time of the Constituent Assembly that took place in Kroměříž in 1848? What did the glory gate look that greeted the emperor Franz Joseph I, his wife Elisabeth (known as Sissi), and the Russian tsar Alexander III? Who of the Kroměříž citizens participated in the Normandy landings and wore the so-called battle dress? Do you know what this uniform looked like?
Find out the answers and much more in our exhibition titled Kroměříž in the course of history 1848–1948. Its central theme is a search for the identity of our small town on the background of the big historical events as it strives to cover the pivotal moments that had formed the development of Kroměříž and its population over the hundred years from 1848 to 1948.
The chronologically told story of the town is accompanied by collection items with high informative value, providing answers also to the questions above. For instance, during the 1848 Constituent Assembly the centre of the Kroměříž was illuminated by twenty lamps burning rapeseed oil; only one of them was preserved and you can see it at this exhibition. You can also see the battle dress and other personal belongings of the Kroměříž citizen Josef Brauchbar, member of the 11th Czechoslovak infantry battalion that operated under the British troops at Tobruk, and participant of the Normandy landings. Some of the rare items include also a sample of wartime flour from 1916 or the only preserved piece of metal from the tower of the Kroměříž archbishop’s chateau that had burned down on 4 May 1945.
Large stylised models of no-longer-existing landmarks of Kroměříž are also on display: including the unique chain bridge which the Archbishop Rudolph Jan had built in 1826 across the Morava River, or the monumental glory gate erected in 1885 by a local builder Ladislav Mesenský on the occasion of a meeting of the Austrian emperor Franz Joseph I with the Russian tsar Alexander III in Kroměříž. There is also a model of a Jewish synagogue from 1910, which was blown up after several blasts by the German troops in 1942, or a model of the main road bridge undermined by the German army on 3 May 1945 with twelve aerial bombs and blown up a day later. Smaller models in the glass cabinets represent selected style-distinctive buildings from around Kroměříž.
Travelling back in time through the history, you will be accompanied by period films and photographs, as well as played documentaries projected directly onto the elements of the interior. The model of the Kroměříž chateau tower includes also a listening space: you can choose from a range of audio tracks presenting some of the key moments in the town’s history told by renowned writers. There are also recordings of Moravan, the oldest choral society in Kroměříž. Interactive displays within the exhibition spaces contain many unique photographs, short films, and accompanying texts to broaden the individual topics.
An attractive element in the interior is a collection of mannequins dressed in meticulously reconstructed period clothing, delivered to the smallest of details. You will be greeted by a member of the archbishop’s personal guard, officer of the sharpshooters’ association of Kroměříž, a couple dressed in the traditional voluptuous folk costumes of the Haná region, emperor Franz Joseph I and his wife Elisabeth of Bavaria, Russian tsar Alexander III and tsarina Maria Feodorovna, or the Czech politician and historian, member of the imperial assembly in Vienna and in 1848/1849 also in Kroměříž – František Palacký.
Location of the exhibition:
• main building, 2nd floor
Explanatory and accompanying texts:
• printed: Czech, English
• interactive displays: Czech
• audio panel: Czech
Publications accompanying the exhibition:
• leaflet in Czech
Opened:
• July 2020
Author:
• Markéta Mercová
Gallery
