The exhibition in Prague will showcase the history and restoration of the Malostranský Cemetery

Prague - The exhibition "Malostranský Cemetery - The Story of a Forgotten Monument," which begins today at the Portheimka Gallery in Prague, presents the history and restoration of this cemetery. It will also offer a number of photographs displayed for the first time and examples of funerary sculptures by significant sculptors that adorn the cemetery. The exhibition, organized on the occasion of the recent reconstruction and reopening of the monument, will run until November 27.

The cemetery in Smíchov, located today between two busy streets, has inspired novelists, poets, and painters in the past. Notable figures such as Jan Neruda, Jakub Arbes, Jiří Karásek ze Lvovic, and František Kožík wrote about it and its legends. "We want to present the Malostranský Cemetery as a place that is still alive, and we are very pleased that our generation has managed to secure a claim for its continued existence," said Alena Lehnerová, chairwoman of the Malostranský Cemetery Society. This society, in connection with historians and the city district, advocated for the reconstruction of the site.

According to the organizers of the exhibition, the cemetery has been fighting for its continued existence since its closure in the mid-19th century. For the past hundred years, it has served as the central cemetery of left-bank Prague, where, in the first two-thirds of the 19th century, the remains of members of the aristocracy, significant clergy, and many Prague patrician families were laid to rest.

"Alongside the graves of the poor and middle classes, remarkable works of excellent Czech sculptors, including Václav Prachner, three generations of Platzer families, and the brothers Josef and Emanuel Max, have risen here during this time, many of which have been preserved to this day,” pointed out Lehnerová. The extensive restoration of the cemetery in recent years has been funded by the Administration of Prague Cemeteries using European funds.

The exhibition at the Portheimka Gallery will be accompanied by All Souls' Day walks through the cemetery with guides scheduled for Sunday, October 30. They will begin two hours after noon, and a guided walk by candlelight is prepared for 4:00 PM. Interested parties are to meet at the main gate, and entry will be free. The cemetery has been accessible to the public since the reconstruction was completed this summer.