Publication date: 
2022/07/08
What traces of historic tools have been found on historic buildings and stone artefacts and what did these tools look like? This is too will be presented at the exhibition at the Charles Bridge Museum running from 9 July to 31 October 2022. Experts from the Department of Geotechnics at the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague, the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and the National Heritage Institute will present the results of three years of research in the field of building history, civil engineering, geology and other natural and technical sciences. The exhibition will be officially opened on Saturday 9 July at 5.31 a.m., when, according to legend, Charles Bridge was founded. The exhibition will be opened by Charles IV, who will come across Charles Bridge with his procession and tap on the foundation stone of Charles Bridge.

The exhibition was created within the framework of the project No. DG20P02OVV021 "Stone surface topography and its application in the field of restoration of stone elements" of the NAKI programme of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. Experts focused on the development of stone craft from the earliest times, i.e. from the 9th century to the beginning of the 20th century, when they identified traces of historical tools on historical buildings and stone artefacts. After processing these traces into 3D models, reconstruction of period stone tools that are no longer in use was created.

The reconstructed period instruments presented in the exhibition are always classified according to the given historical style - Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, 19th and 20th century. This gives the visitor a good idea of the possibilities of the building era. At the same time, the very traces of tools found in the buildings that marked a turning point in the history of Prague stone architecture will be presented. Visitors will even be able to try out these tools in a simulated medieval stone workshop to understand their practicality and uniqueness. In addition to the tools, the exhibition will also feature a small stone workshop crane and a stonemason´s wagon for transporting stone blocks.

The exhibition "Stone Prague" with the subtitle "Stoneworking of Historical Buildings of the Capital City of Prague" prepared by experts from the Faculty of Civil Engineering of the Czech Technical University, the Institute of Geotechnics, the Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, and the National Heritage Institute, is a unique systematic presentation of historical stone tools and methods of working with them on a European scale. It thus maps the history of this beautiful craft in the history of one city in the context of European history.

The exhibition will be on display at the Charles Bridge Museum, adress is Křižovnické náměstí 3, Praha 1 – Staré Město, from 9 July to 31 October 2022.

Contact person: 
Name: 
Lidmila Kábrtová
E-mail: 
lidmila.kabrtova@fsv.cvut.cz