Programme of the Opening of the 2016 Season at Chlum
• 14:00 - Presentation of Austrian and Prussian units and Austrian artillery
• 14:10 - Welcome speech
• 14:20 - Performance by the flute ensemble Berušky of Libčany Primary School
• 14:45 - Ceremonial presentation of the book The Austro-Prussian War of 1866: Arms and Equipment
• 15:00 - A look into the life of the civilian population during the fateful war in a short lecture and a tour of soldiers' uniforms from the Austro-Prussian War with expert commentary by Mgr. Josef Šrámek, Ph.D.
• 15:00 - Theatre for children - Kašpárek at the Rock Castle (Bouček Puppet Theatre BOĎI Jaroměř)
Throughout the day it will also be possible to visit the nearby lookout tower and information centre. Admission to the tower is free for visitors to the Museum of the War of 1866 at Chlum.
The Battle of 1866 Memorial at Chlum includes an area with more than 460 monuments and symbolic memorials commemorating the clash of the Austrian and Prussian armies in the decisive battle of the War of 1866, as well as the Museum of the War of 1866, an information centre and a 56-metre-high observation tower with a viewing platform 35 metres above the ground. From there there is a view over the entire battlefield, which stretched between Nechanice and Hořiněves. The information centre, with available information materials and sales of selected publications and souvenirs, is located in the former guard house.
In the Museum of the War of 1866, which was enlarged in 2010 by a large extension, the exhibition includes samples of the arms and equipment of Prussian and Austrian soldiers, maps of the battlefield, ammunition used and examples of war strategy. In the entrance part of the museum, visitors are impressed by an extensive battle model, the so-called diorama entitled 'Fighting near the village of Dohalice', which on an area of more than five square metres depicts the struggle of Prussian and Austrian units. During their visit, visitors have the opportunity to watch documentary films dramatizing the fateful clash between Prussians and Austrians both directly in the exhibition and in a separate cinema hall.
'In one of the films, through the statements of personalities of the supreme Austrian command, including commander-in-chief Ludwig Benedek, we find ourselves on the eve of the fateful battle of 1866. And in the exhibition there is a film story of an ordinary Austrian soldier who took part in the cruel fighting in the Svíb Forest, where some 50,000 soldiers clashed,' said the director of the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové, Mgr. Naďa Machková Prajzová, Ph.D.
This year's novelty is also a short-term exhibition of replica uniforms supplemented by examples of women's period dresses. 'Visitors also appreciate
the opportunity to try handling mock rifles that soldiers of both armies used in the battle,' said Mgr. Naďa Machková Prajzová, Ph.D.
Visitors to the Battle of 1866 Memorial can walk through the grounds along two educational trails leading through the sites of the main clashes and around the principal monuments. The educational trail through the central battlefield of Chlum has 20 stops and passes by the Battery of the Dead monument, the Mausoleum and the Ossuary. The trail also passes through the Ravine of the Dead. The educational trail through the Svíb Forest has 23 stops, begins at the information centre at Chlum and continues via Lípa and Čistěves to the Svíb Forest, then along the Alley of the Dead to Máslojedy and back into the Svíb Forest, from where one can return to Čistěves. Another educational trail, Retreat, which can be used by cyclists, connects the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové with Chlum and directly follows on from the Central Battlefield trail. From July it will also be possible to gain additional important knowledge and information about the visited significant sites of the area through a new mobile application.
This year the Museum of the War of 1866 commemorates the 80th anniversary of its existence, which will be documented by an exhibition of period photographs and historical depictions of many monuments of the Chlum battlefield. The original museum building was erected in 1936 on the initiative of Josef Volf of Máslojedy, a member of the Committee for the Preservation of Monuments from the War of 1866, at a cost of 44,000 crowns. The building was constructed according to a design by Ing. František Friedrich by the builder Antonín Šandera. The basis of the exhibition became the collections of the association's members and supporters.
The War Museum is also engaged in educational activities aimed at all age groups. For example, kindergarten children and children from the first level of primary schools learn about the war conflict in the form of a fable during a walk through the outdoor area near the museum building. One-day events for parents with children are also planned during the year: on 14 May 2016 it will be the event 'A Soldier and a Vivandière of the Imperial Army' and on 30 June 2016 the event 'With your school report to the Museum of the War of 1866 at Chlum.'
More about the programme at www.muzeumhk.cz/program-2016.html
This year the Museum of Eastern Bohemia in Hradec Králové has called on the public to help expand the collection with photographs, diaries, commemorative
notes and other sources relating to the War of 1866 that may be in family archives. This offer of cooperation still stands.
Event and Museum of the War of 1866 at Chlum website: www.chlum1866.cz
Media contact
Dana Mylerová
Department of Protection and Presentation of Collection Items
+420 495 512 391,
+420 734 203 273
d.mylerova@muzeumhk.cz
www.muzeumhk.cz