And what will you get to see here?
The ethnographic museum has reopened its doors after three years of renovations, and it sure has a lot to show for it. During your visit, you’ll embark on a fascinating excursion into history old and new. In the depths of the Gerlachov and Chotěšov Home, you’ll discover vast expositions dealing with the most diverse areas of our ancestors’ lives and local folklore.
From the village to the city
The first tour route will take you through the development of Pilsen and its surroundings from the 19th to the 20th century. You’ll discover what changed during this time within both the village and urban environments as well as the lives of the individual people. You’ll literally follow along with the lives of Pilsen natives from the cradle to the grave. You’ll peer into all the corners of their everyday experience, which primarily followed the natural and sacral annual cycle: work, play, traditions, religion, school attendance and education, travel, and housing.
Thanks to the audiovisual information boards, you can compare Pilsen’s current and past appearances as well as those of the adjacent villages with intruiging period photography. You’ll get to look around a countryside home, a city flat, a drugstore complete with its medical equipment, and a grocery store.
Livelihood, Clothing, Traditions
The second tour route, Livelihood, Clothing, Traditions, will lead you into the world of craftsmanship and domestic production. You’ll discover the techniques and objects used in trades such as dyeing, gingerbread making, waxworking, dressmaking, drapery, and many other fields. The exposition is also dedicated to various folk indulgencies, such as distilling alcohol, making snuff tobacco, and poaching.
As you walk through the proverbial year, you’ll be shown the diverse range of holidays and their relevant customs as they were celebrated in the Pilsen Region. Some of the traditions and symbols survive today, while others you’ll learn about for the first time.
Urban fashion and folk costumes
Along the way, you’ll also run into the Urban Clothing exhibit, which focuses on clothes worn from the 16th to the 19th century. The timeline will then lead you to discover exactly how fashion trends changed from the start to the end of the 19th century. And don’t forget to make your way up to the top floor of the Gerlachov Home. It’s worth tackling the stairs, given there’s a magical display here on historical folk costumes.
