Muzeum loutek v Plzni

About the museum

The museum is housed in house no. 137/23 on Republic Square (náměstí Republiky). Since the Middle Ages, this house has been one of the most important patrician houses in Plzeň and is a registered cultural monument. The core of the front house dates from the pre-Hussite period. After a fire in 1507 the house was restored in the late Gothic style, and in 1580–1590 its owner, Jan Bakalář, rebuilt it at great expense in the Renaissance style. From that period dates one of the most beautiful Renaissance facades in the town, with a later second floor and gable. Baroque alterations after 1726 brought vaults on the ground floor and unique roof trusses from the late 18th century.

The building is owned by the city, which financed the extensive reconstruction from 2007 at a cost of roughly CZK 60 million. The investor for the exhibition section was the Divadlo ALFA theatre, which prepared the exhibition project together with the Západočeské muzeum v Plzni (West Bohemian Museum in Plzeň). The museum was created through cooperation between the City of Plzeň and the Plzeň Region, and it is run by the West Bohemian Museum in Plzeň.

The exhibition draws on Plzeň's rich puppetry tradition. It begins with travelling puppeteers of the early 19th century and continues through the Škodovo divadlo (Škoda Theatre), presented as an animated model, family puppet theatres and the Loutkové divadlo feriálních osad (Puppet Theatre of the Holiday Colonies), up to the personalities of Gustav and Karel Nosek, Josef Skupa and Jiří Trnka, whose collaboration created Spejbl and Hurvínek. The second floor belongs to today's professional Divadlo ALFA.

Highlights

• Plzeň puppetry tradition, from travelling theatres to the present day
• Animated model of the Škoda Theatre
• Puppets linked to Josef Skupa and Jiří Trnka, Spejbl and Hurvínek
• Exhibition and gallery of the Divadlo ALFA
• Renaissance townhouse with a facade decorated with sgraffito
• Self-service programme Hurvínkovo BUBUBU for individual visitors

Permanent exhibitions

• Kočovná divadla, Škodovo divadlo a počátky plzeňského loutkářství – The story of puppets, from travelling puppeteers of the early 19th century to the first permanent puppet theatre, supplemented by an animated model of the Škoda Theatre.
• Rodinná divadla, Loutkové divadlo feriálních osad a Divadlo Karla Nováka – The first floor presents family puppet theatres, the Puppet Theatre of the Holiday Colonies and the personalities of the Nosek brothers, Skupa and Trnka.
• Expozice a galerie Divadla ALFA, muzejní divadlo – The second floor presents today's professional Divadlo ALFA and its puppets from award-winning productions.

Operated by

Západočeské muzeum v Plzni

Admission & discounts

Holders of ICOM and AMG cards enter free of charge.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

According to its own statement, the museum is step-free.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Family tours & workshops
• Activity booklet, scavenger hunt or kids’ audio guide
• Kids’ birthday parties

The self-service programme Hurvínkovo BUBUBU gives individual visitors a game card with which they search for Hurvínek's dog Žeryk. For schools there are art and art-drama programmes in Professor Skupa's workshop. The museum also hosts birthday celebrations with a special guide and lends family puppet theatres.

Getting there & parking

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Amenities & dining

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Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

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