The Czech Crown Jewels, which were on display in the Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle from September 17 until today, were viewed by 46,609 visitors. Last year, when the exhibition lasted eight days, there were approximately 34,000 people. Karolína Blinková informed ČTK about this on behalf of the presidential office. The Crown Jewels will deposit the seven keyrings back into the Crown Chamber today. President Petr Pavel decided that the jewelry exhibition will be held every year on the occasion of the national holiday of St. Wenceslas, which falls on September 28.
On average, 3,329 people visited the exhibition per day, some days the Prague Castle reserved only for school groups. In previous years, the exhibition of insignia often reached the maximum possible capacity, i.e. approximately 4,500 visitors per day.
This year, the exhibition took place after an unusually short period of time, previously the crown jewels were exhibited rather rarely, for example during the ten years of President Miloš Zeman they were on display four times. The last time the exhibition was held last January was on the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Czech Republic.
The jewels can only be removed from the Crown Chamber, where they are stored for a long time, if all seven key fobs are found. These are the president and prime minister, the presidents of both parliamentary chambers, the archbishop of Prague, the provost of the St. Vitus chapter and the mayor of Prague. Prime Minister Petr Fiala (ODS) did not personally attend the opening this year, he was represented by Filip Minář from the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic.
The exhibition was subtitled The Mysterious Power of Stones, and thanks to holographic animation, visitors could see what stones were on the crown in 1347 during the coronation of Charles IV. Originally, there were 13 green emeralds and 60 pearls on the Crown of St. Wenceslas, Charles IV left them at the end of his life. removed and had the crown set with blue sapphires. The animation offered visitors the opportunity to see the original appearance of the crown.
The Czech crown jewels served as badges of the rule and power of the Czech kings. Set includes Wenceslas crown, royal scepter, royal apple, leather cases for them, crown cushion and coronation cloak with accessories. The St. Wenceslas crown was made in 1346 by Charles IV. for his coronation as Czech king the following year.
Source: www.tyden.cz
