The centerpiece of the exhibition is the theme "Dynasty that made Bohemia a kingdom." Visitors observe the transformation from an early medieval principality to a hereditary kingdom, which, at the turn of the 13th and 14th centuries, became one of the significant power entities of the Holy Roman Empire. The exhibition also shows that the fall of the Přemyslid dynasty in 1306 did not mean the end of the Czech state – on the contrary, the solid foundations built by the Přemyslids allowed for its further development under the Luxembourgs.
At the core of the exhibition is an extraordinary collection of more than 900 artifacts from the fields of history, archaeology, numismatics, art history, and book culture. In addition to the rich collections of the National Museum, loans from nearly seventy domestic and foreign institutions and private collections are presented. Often these are authentic artifacts – "witnesses" of Přemyslid power, faith, and everyday life that have survived centuries, political upheavals, and the very fall of the dynasty.
Among the most significant exhibits is the Romanesque stone sarcophagus from Vyšehrad, an exceptional funerary monument associated with the highest representatives of the early Czech royal court. Visitors will also see the funeral jewels of Přemysl II. Otakar, created in the Prague goldsmith's workshop during the coronation of Václav II in 1297, or the ring from the grave of Přemysl I. Otakar, a rare personal item of the first hereditary Czech king. A special place is occupied by the royal crown from Slezská Středa, associated with the Přemyslid environment and the story of Central European politics at the beginning of the 14th century, as well as textiles and liturgical objects from the tombs of St. Václav and St. Ludmila, an antependium from Cheb, or a reliquary cross from Roudnice nad Labem. The exhibition reminds us that it was the cult of St. Václav and St. Ludmila that became one of the pillars of legitimizing Přemyslid power and building the continuity of the Czech state.
A strong line of the exhibition features prominent personalities of the Přemyslid dynasty, presented as real people of flesh and blood, whose decisions had a fundamental impact on the shape of the Czech state and Central Europe. Visitors will encounter St. Ludmila as a woman who was at the birth of the Czech state and paid for it with her life, St. Václav as a ruler who lost the struggle for power but became a symbol of Czech statehood, and Boleslav I as a tough ruler without whom no kingdom would have emerged. Emphasis is also placed on key kings – Přemysl I. Otakar, who made the royal crown an institution, Přemysl II. Otakar, whose ambitions reached from Bohemia to the Adriatic, and Václav II, who understood that power rests on law and money and transformed the Czech kingdom into an economic powerhouse.
However, the exhibition also reminds us of the dramatic nature of dynastic history. A fateful moment occurred on an August afternoon in 1306, when, under still unclear circumstances, the last legitimate male member of the family, King Václav III, was murdered in Olomouc. This closed more than four hundred years of Přemyslid rule, but not the history of the Czech kingdom – therein lies the strength of the Přemyslid legacy, which the exhibition highlights.
The exhibition is divided into several thematic units located in the main exhibition halls of the historical building of the National Museum: from the introductory presentation of the dynasty and the family tree to the periods of princely and royal eras from 1198 to 1306, and the Přemyslid tradition during the Luxembourg period. In addition to original exhibits, visitors can expect a range of multimedia presentations that will help place the artifacts in broader contexts and bring the Middle Ages closer to modern audiences.
The exhibition "Přemyslids. The Royal Dynasty and Its Time" is designed for a wide range of visitors – from school groups to families with children and the professional public, as well as foreign tourists. Schools are offered clear and lively explanations of the birth of the Czech kingdom in a European context, while families can explore the story of kings, power, and treasures of the Middle Ages told through specific fates and visually attractive exhibits. It allows the Czech audience to rediscover the roots of their own statehood and strengthen national pride through a story that firmly anchors the Czech lands in the history of Europe. For foreign visitors, it presents a unique medieval exhibition of European format.
Discover the exhibition "Přemyslids. The Royal Dynasty and Its Time" at the Historical Building of the National Museum! More than 900 unique exhibits will draw you into the world of power, faith, and dramatic fates from St. Václav to the fall of the dynasty.
The National Museum Complex
Václavské náměstí 68, Prague 1, 110 00
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