Vesely Kopec: An Open-air Museum

Published on by Grace

Perhaps one of the best attractions in Vysocina, the Czech highlands, is “Vesely Kopec ” (Merry Hill).  Vesely Kopec features a collection of folklore buildings, arts and crafts in an open-air setting.

Entrance to the museum

Once you are inside the museum, it gives you a feel of being transported back in time when people lived simply with ancient tools.  It is even more amazing to note the craft they had created through it.

A typical folk cottage

Here’s a peek into one of the cottages.  Isn’t it amazing how people used to survive in such small space?  One room serves everything:  eating, sleeping, socializing.

Interior of the cottage

But the view outside seems to make up for what’s lacking in the inside.

The museum features a mill, a barn, a weaving area and a flax and fruit dryer to name a few.

The equipment used for weaving.

This cabinet is an ancient fruit dryer.

One of the volunteers doing some restorations.  Yes, it is restored the same way it was built.

Vesely Kopec is the only architectural folklore exposition in Eastern Bohemia.

So if you are ever in the Czech Republic and decide to go beyond Prague to explore the countryside, this is one spot worth checking out.

More information about Vesely Kopec can be found here.

5 thoughts on “Vesely Kopec: An Open-air Museum”

  1. I am struck by the many similarities I’m finding here to Latvia. They have an ethnic museum much like this, too. Despite the language differences, there is much the same throughout that Eastern European section.

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    1. Hi Gunta,
      I’ve never been to Latvia. When my son is old enough to withstand a longer road trip, Latvia will be one of the countries we will go to.

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  2. Dear Grace,
    My family and I look especially for open air living history museums. We have visited them in Normway, Britain, Alsace-Lorraine, Holland, Denmark, and many other places. We love to see how they lived in these places so long ago, what life was like for them. I hadn’t heard of this one, but I am sure we will get there one day! The Czech Republic has a particularly interesting history that I would like to learn more about. Thanks so much for this wonderful post!

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    1. Hi Naomi,

      Yes, this one is not very famous because it is quite difficult to get into. I do hope you and your family will get to visit it one day.

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