National Museum (Prague)

The National Museum (NM) (Czech: Národní muzeum) is a public museum dedicated to natural scientific and historical collections of the Czech Republic, its history, culture and people, among others. The museum was founded in 1818 by Kašpar Maria Šternberg. Historian František Palacký was also strongly involved in the foundation of the museum. The National Museum houses nearly 14 million items from the areas of natural history, history, arts, music and librarianship, which are located in dozens of museum buildings. The main hall of the National Museum is located on Wenceslas Square in downtown Prague. Built in neo-Renaissance style in 1891, the building underwent significant restoration from 2011 to 2018 to mark the centennial of the Czech and Czechoslovak declaration of independence. Due to its dominance over the busiest intersection of Prague, the National Museum building carries a significant national importance. As such, it frequently serves as a focal point for protests, rallies, gatherings and public events.