National Gallery opens doors for free to mark 211th anniversary

The National Gallery in Prague has marked the 211th anniversary of its foundation by opening its doors to the public free of charge all weekend. A group of aristocrats and intellectuals set up the Patriotic Friends of the Arts in 1796. They established two institutions, the Academy of Fine Arts and the publicly accessible Picture Gallery of Patriotic Friends of the Arts. The latter - combined with the Modern Gallery of the Kingdom of Bohemia, founded in 1902 - was the director predecessor of today's Czech National Gallery.