The NZM branch from Pleskot and Šraml will start being built in Ostrava next year

Ostrava - The branch of the National Agricultural Museum (NZM) in the Dolní Vítkovice area of Ostrava will start construction at the beginning of next year. It is set to open in 2019. The director of NZM Milan Jan Půček told ČTK that the museum today purchased buildings belonging to the engineering company Vítkovice. An exhibition dedicated to agricultural technology and food will be created in two halls covering an area of 6,000 square meters.

The idea to establish a branch of the museum in Ostrava came from Minister of Agriculture Marian Jurečka (KDU-ČSL), who is a frequent visitor to the industrial Dolní Vítkovice. He attends both the Colours of Ostrava music festival and the Science and Technology Centre with his children, for example. "I liked the interactivity of the exhibits there. I thought it would be good if our museum could also develop in this way," said Jurečka.

The project will cost 123 million crowns. This amount includes 10 million crowns for the purchase of buildings from Vítkovice. "This is the first project in Ostrava supported by a national institution. I believe that the most beautiful agricultural museum in the world will be created here," said Jan Světlík, the owner of the engineering company.

The project involves the building of the former Veronika repair shop, where Veronika cars used for transporting molten iron were repaired and renovated. The railway cars reportedly received their name in the 19th century after the mistress of one of the company’s representatives. The second building served as a storage facility for refractory materials.

The project is being developed according to the designs of architects Josef Pleskot and Milan Šraml. It plans to incorporate a connection between the two brick halls. An additional section will also be built, which will house an exhibition dedicated to food. It is intended to be dynamic and designed to respond to potential changes. It will focus not only on quality Czech food, but also on its composition, variety, processing technologies, and other contexts.

The museum aims to establish an exhibition space and a depot in Ostrava. The depot should also be at least partially accessible to the public. Agricultural machines will be divided into four groups according to their use throughout the agricultural year.

In addition to the main building in Prague’s Letná, the museum has four branches: in Čáslav, at the Kačina and Ohrada castles, and in Valtice. The Ostrava branch will be the fifth. The National Agricultural Museum is a state-funded organization. It deals with themes related to agriculture, forestry, hunting, fishing, horticulture, food production, the processing of agricultural products, rural development, and cultural landscapes.