KRKONOŠE MUZEUM - AUGUSTINIAN MONASTERY
Krkonoše muzeum in Vrchlabí was founded in 1883 as Riesengebirgsmuseum by Austrian Krkonoše society to "explore nature, history and people of Krkonoše and to gather collections as proof". Since 1966 it has been managed by the governing body of Krkonoše mountains national park. It is located in the building of former Augustinian monastery and it looks after more than 32.000 registration numbers of exhibits from various fields of natural and social science. Through permanent and temporary exhibitions and during accompanying programs of various events the Muzeum introduces the Krkonoše mountains to visitors.
In the building of the Augustinian monastery there are the following expositions:
- “Stone and Life”: modern audiovisual exposition suitable especially for visitors with children. It outlines the uniqueness and the irreplaceability of the Krkonoše nature in European and worldwide range and engages in general natural principles from explanation of main processes in mountain nature to serial extraordinary examples of Krkonoše mountains ecosystems. Except for showcases, exhibits, photos and presentations there are demonstrations of life nature: aquarium with model of a mountain creek or a terrarium, all with exhibitions of local flora and fauna from invertebrate to birds. For this exposition a guided group tour is recommended, basic program takes 100 minutes.
- “Man and the Mountains”: presents the history of inhabitation of the Krkonose Mountains and can be seen in the cloisters of the Augustinian monastery. It follows the influence of humans on nature from 13th to 19th century, in the part „Život lidu krkonošského“ to World War II. Thematically the exhibitions starts with beginning of inhabitation at the foothills, followed by man discovering the wealth of the mountains, development of steel mills, glassmaking, mountain agriculture and tourism. Parallelly it follows the development of rational agriculture, natural science and it does not forget Krakonoš, the legendary spirit of the Krkonoše Mountains. The exhibition symbolically ends with futurological postcards from the Mount Sněžka, through which a rail track goes and which is entwined by a mountain road. This is how a hundred years ago a ruthless boom in tourism was convincingly predicted.
Opening times:
1. 5.–30. 11. Tue–Sun 8:00–17:00
1. 12.–30. 4. Tue–Sun 8:00–16:30
Last group will be admitted at 16:00.
Admission:
Stone and Life, 2 hours: full – 120 CZK, discounted – 60 CZK, family – 180 CZK
Stone and Life, 1 hour: full – 100 CZK, discounted – 50 CZK, family – 140 CZK
Stone and Life, children’s programme: full – 80 CZK, discounted – 40 CZK, family – 90 CZK
KRKONOŠE MUZEUM – AUGUSTINIAN MONASTERY
