Regionální muzeum v Jílovém u Prahy / Jílové u Prahy Regional Museum - Jílové u Prahy (Central Bohemia) - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

The Jílové u Prahy Regional Museum (Regionální muzeum v Jílovém u Prahy) is located in a medieval building called "Dum Mince ("Coin House") in the lower part of the town's main public space - Masarykovo námestí (Masaryk Square).

The beginnings of the Regional Museum are connected with the local native Leopold Cihák, who donated his collection to the town in 1891. At the meeting on December 28 of the same year, the Town council accepted it and established a Museum. Leopold Cihák was then entrusted with the management. The collection consisted of hundreds of historical documents, maps and other exhibits. Gradually, the collection grew and the museum tried to make itself known. Leopold Cihák died in 1915, and then it took another 15 years for someone to take care of the collection again. The town councilors of Jílové founded the Association of the District Museum, which took over the collection into its care on January 24, 1931, and at the same time was promoted from the Municipal Museum to the District Museum. The association was dissolved and the collection returned to the hands of the city in 1950. The Museum, this time under the name of the Regional Museum of National History, functioned only thanks to the work of volunteers. Museum was renamed again in 1960, this time to the Museum of Gold Mining and Processing. Gradual professionalization took place in the Museum since 1962 and the museum building underwent an expensive reconstruction in 1977-1983. Expositionally, the Museum was specialized in gold mining and processing in the Czech lands. The last name change took place on January 1, 1991, when it changed to the current name Regional Museum in Jílové near Prague.

The Museum is housed in a valuable Gothic house, built in 1356, which served as the Montane office (Horní urad) until 1420. Here the royal bergmeister collected taxes in gold from the miners and also bought gold for the needs of the Czech king. From there, the mining business in the vicinity of Jílové was managed. The house was repaired in the 1st quarter of the 15th century after the burning of by the Hussites and further expanded in 1706. It was also owned for some time by Edward Kelley, an alchemist at the court of Emperor and the Czech king Rudolf II. According to the preserved fresco in the courtyard of the house, around 1744 its owner was Vilém Ferdinand von Krauseneck, the administrator of the "Zemské desky" ("Land Tables" - land registry for real estates owned under allodial title). The house became the property of the town Jílové in 1876. Town established a school here, which operated here together with the museum from 1891 to the 1950s.

Permanent exhibitions:

• History of gold mining and processing
• Ora et labora (exposition of the Benedictine convent on Ostrov at Davle)
• Czech tramping and nature of the lower Posázaví region

Museum also manages accessibility of three exterior exhibitions - medieval gold mines in Jilové vivinity - Štola Sv. Josefa (St. Joseph adit), Štola Sv. Antonína Paduánského (St. Antony of Padua adit), Štola Halíre (Halíre adit).

Source: excerpted and translated from Wikipedia and National Heritage Institute portal.