Museum of Puppets in Chrudim celebrates its 50th birthday anniversary
The centre of Chrudim came alive with art at the weekend. Visitors could see the most famous Czech puppets, live music and theatre performances. The celebrations marked 50 years since the birth of the local Museum of Puppets.
The Museum of Puppets in Chrudim was established 50 years ago with artefacts from the private collection of Professor Jan Malík, a leading personality in the field of puppetry. Today the museum owns more than 50 thousand objects - backdrops, posters, photographs, and of course puppets. There are now around 11,000 of them. The country’s two most famous puppets Spejbl and Hurvínek have pride of place in the collection. Great puppeteers such as Jiří Trnka and Josef Váchal are prominently represented. Contributions from abroad include exotic puppets from the Orient or artefacts used in shadow or water theatre in Indonesia, India, Japan, China or Burma.
Journey to the Light
This year the museum presents a new exhibition called "Journey to the Light" subtitled "Luminescent Puppets of the Blackwits Theatre". It presents the artistic project of journalist and screenwriter Ivan Kraus and his wife, artist and puppeteer Nadězda Munzarová. The title is a combination of the English word "black" and the German "der Witz". The exhibition presents their work and the puppets with which they performed in many countries around the world, giving more than 14,500 performances between 1975 and 2017.
A museum with a unique atmosphere
Founded in 1972, the museum is located in Břetislavova Street in the historic Mydlář House with a tower resembling a minaret. In the second half of the 16th century, the house was bought by the soap and candle maker Matěj Mydlář and given a Renaissance appearance. The house has a richly decorated facade with Tuscan columns.
The house is decorated with a number of reliefs, for example the head of a jester, a bull, an owl or a deer. The tower is said to have served as an observatory in the past. Another interesting feature is the historic well, located on the first floor of the house. It is said to be magical and will answer any question you may ask.
