Lapidarium, Prague
part of the National museum
The Lapidarium is a lapidarium and a part of the National Museum in Prague, Czech Republic. It is the largest permanent exhibition of historical collections of stone sculpture, tombs and architectonical fragments originating from Bohemia, mostly from Prague.
History
In 1839, František Palacký, an early supporter of the National Museum, advocated for collecting stone monuments and artifacts. In 1898, the precursor to the Lapidarium, the Exhibition of Monuments of Old Architecture and Exhibition of Architecture and Engineering, was held at the Výstaviště Praha. The exhibition's building was designed by architect Antonín Wiehl for the 1891 world's fair held in Prague and continues to house the museum today.
The first permanent exhibition in the Lapidarium was held in 1905. The museum closed from 1914 to 1932 due to World War I. The museum again closed from 1939 to 1954 because of World War II. The museum closed from 1967 to 1993 for renovations.
The Lapidarium houses valuable stone sculptures dating from the 11th to the early 20th century. The museum has a collection of around 2,000 artefacts, 400 of which are on permanent display in eight halls of approximative area of 1,300 square meters.
Collections
Romanic and the early Gothic period
The oldest Romanic fragments from the crypt of St.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Lapidarium, Prague” as part of the National museum. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as part of the National museum. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 10, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q12032748. VIAF identifies the subject as 124496386. The Library of Congress control number is n95071400. Authority coordinates are 50.105, 14.431. 3 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1839, 1898, 1891 and 1905.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Lapidarium, Prague”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Lapidarium, Prague primary sources, Lapidarium, Prague archive and Lapidarium research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Lapidarium, Prague”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Lapidarium, Prague” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.