The royal crown, apple and scepter will be on display in the Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle from Tuesday 17 to Monday 30 September as part of the celebrations of the St Wenceslas Anniversary. The exhibition, subtitled "The Mysterious Power of Stones", will this year focus specifically on the gems that adorn the jewels.
The Crown Jewels will be exhibited in the Vladislav Hall of the Old Royal Palace, together with a special display case with precious stones. The first visitors will see them on Tuesday 17 September. A day earlier, in the presence of seven keyholders, they will be ceremonially taken from the Crown Chamber in the Cathedral of St Vitus, Wenceslas and Vojtěch, transferred to the Vladislav Hall and inspected by restorers.
The exhibition of the Crown Jewels will run from 17 to 30 September and visitors can visit it daily from 9 am to 5 pm. The exception is both Thursdays, which are reserved for schools. On Thursday, September 19, visitors will not be able to see the jewels at all; on Thursday, September 26, the exhibition will be open to them from 1 pm.
This year, the entrance will be from Hradčany Square through the gate to the South Gardens and via the Bull Staircase to the Third Courtyard and the Old Royal Palace. There are toilets available along the way as well as the possibility of buying small refreshments. There is a cloakroom outside the entrance to the hall. The exhibition is free of charge. For operational reasons, strollers cannot be admitted to the exhibition, it is not possible to allow them into the Vladislav Hall and the waiting area is not wheelchair accessible. When the daily capacity of the exhibition is reached, the organisers will close the gate to the South Gardens and the queue itself so that people do not wait unnecessarily on that day.
Visitors in a wheelchair with one accompanying person can access the exhibition directly from the Third Courtyard. The same applies to school groups, but their visit is subject to prior reservation via the Castle's website.
Due to the preparations for the exhibition, the Old Royal Palace will be closed from Tuesday 10 to Monday 16 September. A second closure is scheduled for after the exhibition, on Tuesday 1 October. The Cathedral will be closed to tourists on the day of the removal of the jewels, Monday 16 September.
A new feature of this year's exhibition will be holographic animation
Thirteen green emeralds and sixty pearls, which dominated the crown of St.Wenceslas at his coronation in 1347, were removed by Charles IV at the end of his life and the crown was set with blue sapphires. Thanks to the novelty of this year's exhibition, holographic animation, visitors will see the crown as it originally looked at the coronation for the first time. In addition, on the way to the display case with the crown jewels, they will have the opportunity to get to know the individual gems in detail, even as they occur in nature.
Communication Department of the CPR CR
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