Open-Air Museum Kourim

The royal town of Kourim is one of the most historically important towns in Bohemia. You can see the rich history of the once regional town in the Museum of the Kourim Region. This museum is located in the middle of the square in the building of the former town hall.

The first part of the exhibition, “Medieval Kourim and Kourimsko,” documents the period from the 10th to the 15th century. You will get an idea of the appearance of medieval Kourim around 1400 through an interactive model located in the exhibition hall, and the period atmosphere will help you evoke the interiors of rooms with stylized architectural elements. The second part, “Historical Kourim and the Kourim Region,” deals with the history of the region and the town from the 16th to the middle of the 19th century. Through a non-traditional form of installation, the historical development of the region in various social strata is presented here.

The museum also provides a guide service in the early Gothic church of St. Stepan. As part of the tour you will visit the underground chapelof St. Catherine’s Renaissance bell tower. Here you will find several curiosities and unique issues. In the chapel of St. Catherine, you will see the oldest known use of a three-beam vaulting system in continental Europe and a set of unique murals from the 15th century. The vault depicts an angelic choir, where twenty-four angels play a variety of musical instruments. The paintings represent a unique “catalog” of musical instruments from the High Middle Ages.

On the outskirts of the city is the Museum of Folk Architecture, which is the only supra-regional open-air museum in the Czech Republic. Architectural monuments from the territory of Central, Eastern and Northern Bohemia are collected here. Visitors have the opportunity to compare different regional types of folk architecture from the 17th to the 19th century. At present, there are fourteen larger residential and farm buildings in the area, which are complemented by several smaller monuments. Almost all buildings are containing with interior exhibits that document housing and farming in the countryside from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century.

The museum is the venue for many ethnographic programs throughout the year. During the programs, visitors have the opportunity to return to the environment of a traditional Czech village of the 19th century and observe how folk festivities and customs were maintained in the past. Costumed farmers and housewives in cottages talk about everyday life, about food, farming and agriculture. Visitors have the opportunity to get acquainted with traditional crafts and try something for themselves. The atmosphere of the museum, located in the beautiful surroundings of an old orchard, is constantly changing in connection with the cycle of individual seasons and the relevant folk customs.

For more information about the Central Bohemia Region, from which this museum comes, click here and here.