Prehistoric Adventures of Eduard Štorch

This year, the National Museum commemorates 100 years since it took over the archaeological collection of Eduard Štorch. An educator by profession and a popular author of books for children and young people, he was also an avid amateur archaeologist. The exhibition Prehistoric Adventures of Eduard Štorch will introduce you to the unusual connection between Štorch's novels and the authentic archaeological finds that inspired him when writing his works.

At the same time, the exhibition presents Eduard Štorch as a progressive personality – a progressive educator, founder of skiing courses, health holidays by the sea and the Children's Farm, an avid amateur archaeologist and collector, and an enthusiastic scout.

The exhibition, which interweaves biographical and narrative lines, is divided into five parts: the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, the Iron Age, the Roman Age and the Early Middle Ages. Accompanied by Štorch's books, you can explore the period from the Early Paleolithic, represented by the legendary Mammoth Hunters, to the Early Middle Ages with the Hero Nik.

The atmosphere of the exhibition is illustrated by examples of fauna from the time of mammoth hunters, which no longer occur in our territory, such as musk deer, wolverines, luminosa, or a mammoth cub, which has been moved from the National Museum's exhibition Windows to Prehistory especially for this exhibition. You can look forward to exceptional palaeontological and archaeological finds or the original of Štorch's diary. The Paleolithic animal figurines, together with the Venus of Věstonice, are considered to be the first ceramic objects in the world. From the Bronze Age, the needles from Nečín – a find from 1929, which inspired Štorch to write his novel Bronze Treasure, or a faithful anthropological reconstruction of a woman with the richest equipment in the Únětice culture from the burial site in Mikulovice are interesting. Furthermore, you can see the unusual equipment of Štorch's discovery of a Celtic warrior grave from Prague-Hloubětín with a sword and a golden ring, and you will be transported to the times of Marobud, king of the Marcomanni, by the luxury products of Roman workshops.

Thanks to audiovisual elements, you can walk through the digital route of the mammoth hunters' wanderings, view a selection of photographs from the Štorch estate and browse through the Chronicle of the Children's Farm or recall the film trilogy by director Jan Schmidt based on Štorch's books in selected excerpts.

Especially child visitors will enjoy the backdrop of a Paleolithic cave with a projected fire, a demonstration of the facade of a Neolithic house, a reconstruction of two graves or animals such as wolves, bears and beavers that appear in Eduard Štorch's books. There is also a library.

You can also try out your literary and illustration skills right in the exhibition. There is a book in which you can write a short story for a sequel or try to design an illustration in the style of Štorch's books. Anyone can also send their stories and illustration designs to vystava@nm.cz. The best works will be published in the exhibition.

The exhibition has been created in cooperation with the Memorial of National Literature, where Štorch's rich literary heritage and photographs are stored.