Prague Museum Night

The fifteenth year of the Prague Museum Night took place on Saturday 9 June, 2018.

The event was organized by the Association of Museums and Galleries, the National Museum and the Prague Public Transport Company, with the financial support of the City of Prague and the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.

In 2018, a wide range of cultural institutions participated in the event - from historical monuments, museums and galleries, through international, documentation and cultural centres, to universities and libraries. 50 institutions took part in this event in 2018, opening 77 buildings altogether for the public. The admission to these institutions was free on Prague Museum Night, with the exception of the buildings of the Vyšehrad National Cultural Monument, which charged the symbolic fee of 1 koruna.  

The 2018 Prague Museum Night once again brought the opportunity to visit museums and galleries at an unusual time, from 7 pm to 1 am. The whole event had a rich programme. There were lectures, concerts, film screenings, guided tours, art and other workshops and much more. 

The Prague Museum Night was yet again very popular. There were 120,000 admissions to the buildings that were open during the event. 

As is traditional, transport between the individual buildings was free for all visitors. The Prague Public Transport Company had 10 bus lines ready for the Prague Museum Night. As every year, the central transfer point of all the bus lines was Jan Palach Square. 

The event was presented positively by the media. According to the monitoring analysis, it can be said that the journalists’ covered the event significantly more than is usual and positively. The news focused primarily on the programmes in individual institutions and organizational and transport information. 

The 2018 Prague Museum Night was affected by bad weather. On the evening of 9 June, Prague was hit by strong thunderstorms that brought gusty winds and torrential rain. In several places in Prague the storm uprooted trees; in places, public transport was halted due to flooded roads. The planned outdoor programme had to be moved indoors.  Information tents had to be closed during the event for about 2 hours for safety reasons. Due to bad weather, fewer admissions were recorded than usual.

However, despite the bad weather, the museum night was enjoyed by 120,000 people.

Over the past fifteen years, the Prague Museum Night has become an inherent part of the capital’s cultural calendar. The Prague Museum Night brings a unique opportunity to explore the cultural riches of the capital in a very specific atmosphere.  Each year, this event plays an important role in the communication of museums and galleries with the general public and brings new, non-traditional experiences. This contributes to the positive perception of Prague and its cultural institutions among the general public. 

The Prague Museum Night was yet again the culmination of the nationwide 2018 Festival of Museum Nights (the fifteenth year).