Bedřich Smetana Museum – Muzeum Bedřicha Smetany

Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884) is a composer who is largely considered to be the founder of Czech national music. Not too shabby, huh?  Please feel free to play this song while you follow the rest of this blog!

This entire museum was a big learning experience for me, and it’s in a great location as well! Closest station is Staroměstská, by either taking Metro A or Trams 17,18 and walking. The building is perched right next to the Charles Bridge, and behind the more visible Klub Lávka. Just walk on past the tables and benches, around the corner, and up the stairway to the ticket office.

Museum entrance located behind Klub Lávka

Bedřich Smetana Museum, front

They are very English friendly here, and there are a lot of informational pamphlets and exhibition guides in other languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Japanese and Dutch). For info on the National Museum website, click here. Also, as a disclaimer, if you would like to snap photos you must purchase a 40 CZK sticker at the ticket office before entering the exhibit.

40 CZK photo permission sticker

First impression upon entering is how wonderful the lighting is. The building faces Vltana river, so the windows just let in beautiful natural lighting and it really compliments the Smetana composed pieces playing lightly in the background. If inclined, you can enjoy the views of the Vltana, Prague Castle, and Charles Bridge with a quick glance out the windows.

The collection itself is classically arranged into four different sections. Early timelines of Smetana’s childhood, early compositions, and other musical records or correspondence are organized in large display cases within the first section. The center room is very comfortable, was two rows of plushy cushioned stools and a grand piano. Some info on Smetana’s work is hung from the ceiling, but I was more attracted to watching a regular visitor playing a few pieces on the piano. Really added to the mood 😉

Pretty interior, and playable piano with permission

When I was reading up on this museum, the biggest highlighted aspect was the conductor’s stand with an electronic laser baton which would allow you to point and play Smetana’s music! Sounded great, but unfortunately it was out of order when I came here 😦 I really wanted to try it out!

(Unfortunately broken) laser baton conductor’s stand

That being said, this room was also lovely arranged. There were smaller individual stands which held duplicates of Smetana’s compositions, and details (written only in Czech) about the background of his pieces. While most things were written entirely in Czech, there were at least captions and summaries for everything written in English, AND if you grabbed an exhibition guide for free, then you can read along as you make your way through the rooms.

There were a few quotes (not by Bedřich Smetana however) written around the walls, but this one stuck out in my mind the most simply because I admire strength and pride from the “underdogs” 😉 While their country might have been unimpressively small to the rest of the world, it goes to show that quality surely rises above quantity, and Bedřich Smetana was just the first Czech to make a splash in the international scene!

A quote that really speaks out to Czech nationalism in arts

Bedřich Smetana and his history was all completely unknown to me, but after this exhibition I did walk away with respect for the Czech music heritage! I like to learn about biographies of artists (and any successful figure in history for that matter) as it shows how similar our experiences may be, but how we handle them that truly sets us apart.

For those music aficionados out there, if you would like to check them out here is the list of Smetana’s works as provided by the Bedřich Smetana Museum!

List of Smetana’s works, in case you’d like to listen 🙂

List of Smetana’s works cont., in case you’d like to listen 🙂

List of Smetana’s works cont., in case you’d like to listen 🙂

As it is located so close to Charles Bridge and Staroměstská, I definitely think it is a convenient quick stop to make. I’d say a good 30-40 minutes is fine for those who like to read all the captions and listen to music playing. A good decent spot for music and museum lovers!