Exhibition at Prague Castle offers rare look into T.G. Masaryk’s private life

A new exhibition which opened at Prague Castle on Tuesday is offering a rare glimpse into the private life of Czechoslovakia’s first president, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. The display is part of a series of events marking the 160th anniversary of Masaryk’s birth on March 7, 1850.

Photo: CTK

T.G. Masaryk, Czechoslovakia’s first president and one of the country’s co-founders, is still revered by most Czechs as an icon and legend. But a new exhibition which opened at Prague Castle on Tuesday, aims to show a personal side of Masaryk’s life which many – including the current President Václav Klaus – feel is sorely needed. On Tuesday, he and organisers suggested that the exhibition should help visitors see Masaryk as not just a symbol but as a man of flesh and blood.

Certainly, the show offers a rare glimpse through original photographs and documents.

Visitors can learn that Masaryk paid 20 crowns for a visit to the barber, bought a Praga automobile for 40,000, or that his US-born wife Charlotte had a monthly household budget of 130,000 crowns. On display are original paintings, china and cutlery and more. There are also personal and official letters, one of them informing the president of the death of his horse, Hector; TGM, of course, was a dedicated rider. But Historian Zdeněk Mahler told public broadcaster Czech TV on Tuesday that members of the military and the police had great fears that the aging Masaryk might suffer injury in the saddle.

Václav Klaus, Zdeněk Mahler (right), photo: CTK

“The soldiers were worried that, when Masaryk rode in a military parade on horseback, one of the horse’s hooves – or rather its horseshoe – might get caught in the tram tracks.”

That too, is documented in an original letter. The exhibition also emphasises architectural contributions at Prague Castle by the great Slovenian architect Josip Plecnik, commissioned by TGM. The show is free and will be open to visitors until mid-March. What’s more, this weekend on the anniversary itself of TGM’s birth visitors will also be allowed a look – for the first time - at Masaryk’s personal library.