The National Museum in Prague

 [Click on an image for a larger version of the photo]

The National Museum in Prague is located at the upper end of Wenceslas Square, and the building itself is in the neo-renaissance style.  Because it will be closed on July 7, 2011 for a period of major renovation and won't open to the public again until June 2015, we decided to go in and take some pictures of the way it is now. To me the current museum building is a very atmospheric place. Who knows exactly what it will be like in four years when they've finished renovations?

Like many natural history museums, Prague's National Museum has collections of rocks and minerals, fossils, preserved specimens of birds and animals, and additional special exhibits. But to me the building is the most impressive exibit of all. At its heart is the main staircase:

And every time you look up you see many graceful columns and arches:

The building contains a "pantheon" of busts of important Czech politicians and writers, but there are statues everywhere, such as this one of Jiří z Poděbrad:: 

I have a real interest in rocks and minerals, and in fossils, so I enjoy looking at the displays in the museum. It is, however, the details that make the museum a special place.

There are many decorative touches like this medallion:

This sculpted face:

This fanciful lion:

And the collections of stones and bones  seem to complement the sumptuously decorated rooms.

This picture shows how statues and exhibits coexist in the museum.

And Greg took this picture which, I think, gives a true idea of the atmosphere of the place:

I only hope that when the museum reopens in 2015, it will still be as intriguing as it is now.