The Czech Police Museum (Muzeum Policie ČR) – Prague

The Czech Police Museum (Muzeum Policie ČR) is housed in the grounds of a former Augustinian monastery that was founded by Charles IV back in 1350. In 1960 the site, which had been used as a convalescent home until 1955 and had subsequently fallen into disrepair, was handed over to the Ministry of Interior who established a Museum of the Frontier Guards in 1965. This evolved into a museum related to the Ministry of Interior and National Security before being remodeled as the Police Museum after the collapse of Communism.

I would describe this museum as an ‘old-school’ museum, relying on uniforms, weapons, life-size dioramas and equipment to tell the story of policing rather than the ‘bells & whistles’ interactive exhibit style which characterizes many museums today. For collectors, such as myself, this makes for a much more rewarding visit as we can examine objects rather than be presented with a game like simulations. In this instance the downside is that the captions and didactic information is mostly in Czech so it can often be difficult to understand the full context of what one is looking at. As a result, I apologise for the brevity of my picture captions as I could not always gather precise information about specific pieces on display.

On the ground floor, the main part of the museum follows a meandering wide corridor which presents a chronological history of Czech law enforcement beginning with a history of policing from 1850 to 1938. It then moves onto exhibits detailing activities related to the second world war period, covering the security forces of the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia as well as activities during the German occupation, including the May uprising and resistance. This is followed by post-war developments focusing on the establishment of the SNB (Sbor Národní Bezpečnosti – National Security Corps), Border Guard and the State Security (StB) apparatus. The museum then transitions to contemporary policing in the Czech Republic. These exhibits include lots of uniforms, weapons, equipment and photographs to give the visitor an idea of the transition over time as well as detailing specific organisational changes.

Police uniform worn during the May uprising against the Germans in 1944. Photo: Julian Tennant.

Czech Police Helmet 1930’s period. Photo: Julian Tennant

Uniforms worn by PPVB and OZU (ie. Red berets) circa 1989 — **Uniforms worn by PPVB (Emergency Public Security Unit) and OZU (Police Special Purpose Unit) at the time of the Velvet Revolution in 1989. Photo: Julian Tennant**

OZU (Police Special Purpose Unit) beret. Photo: Julian Tennant

In addition, there are several rooms and antechambers that concentrate on specific aspects in more depth such as forensics, criminal investigation and traffic control. Upstairs are some very interesting galleries which explore aspects such as NBC and civil defence, anti-narcotic operations etc.

Anti-Drug unit patch of the Criminal Police and Investigation service. Photo: Julian Tennant

A very creepy looking protective clothing set-up in the NBC and civil defense display room. Photo: Julian Tennant

czech police museum prague-25 — **Various NBC protective garments on display at the Czech Police Museum, Prague. Photo: Julian Tennant.**

Nuclear Biological Chemical (NBC) protective clothing display at the Czech Police Museum. Photo: Julian Tennant

One of the galleries that I found particularly interesting is devoted to the ÚRN (Útvar Rychlého Nasazení) also known as URNA which is the Special Operations unit of the Czech Police operating under the command of the Ministry of Interior.

**Czech police special unit URNA (Útvar rychlého nasazení) patches. Photo: Julian Tennant**

Czech police special unit URNA (Útvar rychlého nasazení) beret

The grounds outside the main building include several vehicles used by the police including patrol cars, watercraft and a Mil Mi-2 helicopter. There is also a children’s traffic playground which is open to the public from April to October depending on the weather.

czech_police_museum-72 — Home made tank made between 1969 and 1970 by Vladimir Benes from the village of Hrusky in the Breclav region. On the night of May 19, 1970 he used this tank to take his wife and children to cross the border into Austria. During his attempt the tank broke down and he abandoned it but he was able to cross successfully and eventually settled in the USA where he died in 2009. In the background is a Mil Mi-2 helicopter used by the Czech Police. Photo: Julian Tennant

GAZ-21 Volga used by the Czech traffic police during the Communist era. Photo: Julian Tennant

Despite the overall lack of English language didactic panels, I found this museum to be very interesting and like the Army Museum Žižkov definitely worth the visit. The museum is located approximately 2.5 kilometers south of the Old Town square (Staré Mesto námesti) and can be reached via public transport (with some walking). Instead, I opted for the half an hour walk as it was only marginally longer than the public transport option and also allowed me to detour past Vojenské Starožitnosti, a militaria dealer that offers a good selection of older medals, insignia and other military items.