Muzeum Policie České republiky

About the museum

The museum is located in the Karlov complex in Prague, which Charles IV founded in 1350 for the Augustinian order. After the order was abolished under Joseph II, the buildings first served as a storehouse and from 1791 as a hospital for infectious diseases; later they were also used as a home for the chronically ill, and during the First World War as a centre for convalescent soldiers. In 1955 the dilapidated building had to be cleared, and five years later the Ministry of the Interior acquired it, placed an archive there and had the complex repaired.

Museum use began around the mid-1960s, when the Border Guard Museum was established. In 1973 it was transformed into the Museum of the Corps of National Security and Troops of the Ministry of the Interior. The park in front of the building was converted into a natural gallery, and a children’s traffic playground was built in the garden; it was built in the 1970s and reconstructed in the 1990s.

The decision to establish the Museum of the Police of the Czech Republic was taken in 1990, and the exhibition opened to the public on 12 April 1991. The permanent exhibition traces the development of the security forces in our territory from around 1785 and is based on more than a thousand exhibits, supplemented by hundreds of photographs. The layout of the exhibition follows the arrangement of the former monastery: in the cloister corridor four periods follow one another, from the gendarmerie to the police of the 1990s; in the other halls visitors become acquainted with the present-day police, the traffic service, criminal investigation, the fight against drugs and the air service.

Highlights

• History of the gendarmerie, the Corps of National Security and the Police of the Czech Republic in the cloister corridor of the former monastery
• Furnished gendarmerie station and memorial plaque with the names of 117 Prague police officers
• Criminal investigation exhibition with interactive modules and examples of interesting cases
• Historical police motorcycles, for example the Jawa Pérák or Nanuk
• Children’s traffic playground in the museum garden (April to October)
• Park with an outdoor natural gallery

Permanent exhibitions

• Stálá expozice bezpečnostních sborů – The exhibition in the cloister corridor of the former monastery maps the development of the gendarmerie, the police, the Corps of National Security and the Police of the Czech Republic from 1850 to the present; it is complemented by halls on the traffic service and the present-day police.
• Expozice kriminalistiky – On the ground floor, it presents the development of criminal investigation and the most interesting cases, and offers interactive modules and devices on which visitors can try out the work of investigators.
• Expozice Národní protidrogové centrály a Letecké služby Policie ČR – On the first floor, it covers the police fight against drug crime and the work of the police air service.

Founded

1990

Operated by

Policie České republiky

Admission & discounts

Free entry is also granted to holders of an ICOM card and, upon presentation of a card, to members of the Police of the Czech Republic, the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic, the Emergency Medical Service of Prague, the Prague Municipal Police, the Prison Service of the Czech Republic and Ministry of the Interior employees (this also covers their children aged 6–18), and to veterans of the Police of the Czech Republic (z. s.) and the Army of the Czech Republic.

Accessibility

• Partially 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

Step-free entry to the museum is provided by a platform with a load capacity of 250 kg; a wheelchair must not exceed 70 cm in width and 125 cm in height. Entry with dogs and other animals is prohibited throughout the whole site, including the park.

Kids & families

Great for kids & families

• Hands-on stations
• Playground / play area

In the museum garden there is a children’s traffic playground (April to October, closed in bad weather); it can only be used with one’s own bicycles, scooters and mandatory protective equipment, and the accompanying adult is responsible for the children. In the exhibition, the youngest visitors can test their knowledge of traffic rules on a computer game. The criminal investigation exhibition also depicts the consequences of the most serious violent crime, including murders; entering it is at your own risk, and children may enter only with the consent of their legal guardian.

Getting there & parking

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit