Moravské zemské muzeum
Moravské zemské muzeum | |
 Dietrichstein Palace, seat of the museum | |
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| Established | July 1817 |
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| Location | Brno, Czech Republic |
| Coordinates | 49°11′29″N 16°36′30″E / 49.19139°N 16.60833°E |
| Website | www |
Moravské zemské muzeum (English: Moravian Museum) is a museum in Brno in the Czech Republic. It is the second-largest and second-oldest museum in the country. Its collections include several million objects from many fields of science and culture.
Location
The museum's seat is located in Dietrichstein Palace in Zelný trh in the historic centre of Brno. It was built as a residence of Cardinal Franz von Dietrichstein in 1613–1616. It was rebuilt in late Baroque style at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries and become one of the largest Baroque buildings in Brno.[1]
History
The Moravian Museum was founded in July 1817 by a decree of Emperor Francis II. Science figures such as Christian Carl André, Count Josef Auersperg, Count Hugo-František Salm-Reifferscheid, or Antonín Bedřich Mitrovský were involved in the establishment of the museum.[2]
Beethoven score manuscript
Following the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, the Petschek Family, a wealthy Czech Jewish family involved in banking and the mining industry, fled to the US. They attempted to send by post a prized family possession, the original score of the fourth movement of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 13. However, it was intercepted by the Gestapo. The Nazis asked an expert from the the Moravian Museum to verify the autenticity of the score. According to the current museum curator Simona Šindelářová, the expert recognized Beethoven's handwriting, but in order to save the manuscript from being looted he lied to the Nazis and said it was not authentic. The Museum was then allowed to keep it. It remained with the Moravian Museum for more than 80 years.
The Nazis seized most of the Petschek family’s assets and possessions, which Czechoslovakia’s Communist regime nationalized after the war. Franz Petschek, who had run the family’s mining businesses in Czechoslovakia, tried from his new home in the US to get the piece back but got scant sympathy from the Communist government.
Only in August 2022 did the Moravian Museum take the decision to return the manuscript to the heirs of the Petschek Family, adhering to the Terezín Declaration which urged governments to make every effort to return former Jewish properties confiscated by the Nazis, fascists and their collaborators to their original owners.
Before returning the Beethoven score the museum exhibited it for five days. Apparently it had not been exhibited earlier during the museum's prolonged custody of it. “It’s one of the most precious items in our collections,” said curator Šindelářová. “We’re sorry about losing it, but it rightly belongs to the Petschek family”.[3]
Exhibitions
The museum has several exhibition spaces in Brno:[4]
- Dietrichstein Palace
- Bishop's Courtyard
- Mendelianum
- Palace of Noble Ladies
- Anthropos Pavilion (created by Karel Absolon)
- Mushroom Gatherers' Consultation Place
- Leoš Janáček Memorial
- Jiří Gruša House
The museum also owns and manages several monuments outside Brno:[4]
- Old Jevišovice Castle in Jevišovice
- Budišov Castle in Budišov
- Moravec Castle in Moravec
- Memorial of Kralice Bible in Kralice nad Oslavou
- Centre for Slavonic Archaeology in Uherské Hradiště
References
- ^ "Dietrichstein Palace". Moravian Museum. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
- ^ "About Us". Moravian Museum. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
- ^ "Czech museum to return original Beethoven score to family that fled Holocaust" by Karel Janicek, Times of Israel, December 3, 2022 "Czech museum to return Beethoven manuscript saved from the Nazis to its rightful owners", Euronews.Culture "A Czech Museum Is Returning a Prized Beethoven Score Looted From a Family During World War II." by Caroline Goldstein, Artnet News, December 5, 2022
- ^ a b "Visit Us". Moravian Museum. Retrieved 2021-11-23.
External links
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