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18 September 2020 / 8 Comments

Open air museum in the Czech Republic - Wallachian Open Air museum

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The Wallachian Open Air Museum is an open-air museum in the Czech Republic that showcases more than 100-year-old buildings, furniture and still-functioning mills and workshops from the eastern Czech Republic. Popularly called 'Skansen' after Skansen in Stockholm, the museum is definitely worth a visit.

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Wallachian Open Air museum

The Wallachian Open Air Museum (Valašské muzeum v přírodě in Czech) is a large outdoor museum showcasing old buildings and cultural heritage from the Wallachian region of Moravia in the eastern Czech Republic. The museum consists of three independent parts: the small wooden town, the "Wallachian Village" and the Mill Valley. We didn't have high expectations when we went here, but we were pleasantly surprised.

Wallachian Open Air museum is located in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Moravian Wallachia, in the eastern Czech Republic.

Part 1: The little wooden town

The small wooden town showcases urbanisation from the past, with the oldest house here dating back to 1660. Some of the houses in the area are replicas built to mimic the original house, but many of the houses are originals moved here from various places in the region. This part of the museum can be experienced either on your own or with a guide.

Wallachian Open Air museum - friluftsmuseum i Tjeckien

All the houses are open and you can step inside and look at the interiors. For example, you can enter the mayor's house and see how the family lived, slept and ate. Many of the houses are beautifully decorated, but you are still struck by the harshness of life at this time, with cold interiors and limited access to food.

Wallachian Open Air museum - friluftsmuseum i Tjeckien

There is also a pub in the town and a small church. The church is a replica because the real church burned down, but it is built exactly like the original. The little church is really beautiful, with a very special blue roof. On special occasions, services are held here and special people, such as sports personalities, are buried outside.

Kyrka

Part 2: "The Wallachian Village"

'The Wallachian Village' is the largest of the museum's three sections. In the large green area, you can wander around farms, outbuildings, mills, wells, a school and other characteristic buildings of the rural past. You can peek inside the houses if you like, and outside you'll meet animals such as sheep and geese (and a screaming donkey!). You can discover this part of the museum on your own.

Wallachian Open Air museum - friluftsmuseum i Tjeckien
Wallachian Open Air museum - friluftsmuseum i Tjeckien
Friluftsmuseum i Tjeckien - Wallachian Open Air museum
Wallachian Open Air museum - friluftsmuseum i Tjeckien

Part 3: Kvarndalen

The third part of the museum showcases workshops and various machines powered by water mills. Here you can visit a barn with carriages as well as a blacksmith's shop, a sawmill and the production of wool and grain, among other things.

Friluftsmuseum i Tjeckien - vagnar

This part of the museum can only be visited with a guide, and you simply book a guided tour at the appropriate time. We went on a tour given in Czech, but received written information in English. It was also possible to ask the guide questions in English.

Smedja

We found this part of the museum really fascinating. The machines still work using water power from large mill wheels, and as we walked around, the different machines were switched on so we could see them 'in action'. Imagine that machines made more than 100 years ago can still be used! Today's machines hardly have that durability ...

Kvarnhjul

Indoors at an open-air museum in the Czech Republic

Most of the museum is outdoors, but there is also an indoor museum section. At this point we were a bit tired (the museum is huge!) so we looked around pretty quickly, but even this part looked nice.

See more in the neighbourhood

If you're visiting the Wallachian Open Air museum, don't miss out on the beautiful... tree-top railway at Pustevny, just 15 minutes by car from the museum. The city of Ostrava is not too far away either, where you can take a guided tour of the industrial area. Dolni Vitkovice.

Trädtoppsbana i Tjeckien
All our top tips for the Czech Republic. Click on the image!

Have you visited an open-air museum in the Czech Republic?

Have you been to the eastern Czech Republic, or maybe even visited this open-air museum? Are you interested in culture and old buildings?

Facts about Wallachian Open Air museum - open air museum in Czech Republic

  • Name: The name of the museum in Czech is Valašské muzeum v přírodě.
  • Address: Valašské muzeum v přírodě, Palackého 147, 756 61, Rožnov pod Radhoštěm.
  • Read more: Here you will find Open air museum website (in Czech)

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18 September 2020 6:00
Czech Republic
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6 Comments

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  1. Amanda (Swedish Passport) says:

    Oh, I love to visit these old, cute little houses so this definitely sounds like a place I need to visit 🙂 ).

    18 September 2020 - 17:32

    Reply

  2. BP says:

    I'm not much for churches, but this wooden church with the fantastic roof was absolutely marvellous. I have probably never seen a similar church before. Then I loved the pharmacy(?) with all the nice glass jars.

    18 September 2020 - 20:24

    Reply

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