01-09-2002


HELP! Special Radio Prague Appeal - to help the Museum of Central Bohemia in Roztoky u Prahy.

Museum of Central Bohemia in RoztokyMuseum of Central Bohemia in Roztoky Until the 13th August 2002 the Museum of Central Bohemia, housed in the old manor house and mill in Roztoky a few kilometers north of Prague was one of the most interesting and dynamic smaller museums in the Czech Republic. Not only did it include unique archaeological collections, a fascinating exhibition devoted to one of the most interesting Czech painters of the 19th century Zdenka Braunerova, and a huge number of historic artifacts from Central Bohemia, but it had also acquired an international reputation for its restoration work. It housed a state-of-the-art laboratory, that enabled artifacts - of wood, leather, paper, or any other organic materials - to be restored by radiation techniques without using harmful chemicals. This laboratory was unique in Central Europe, as was a second laboratory devoted to preserving artifacts using a process known as "plasmo-chemical reduction".

Museum of Central Bohemia in RoztokyMuseum of Central Bohemia in Roztoky Between the 13th and 15th August 2002, almost all this was destroyed, as floods waters reaching a height of up to 7 metres (!) swept through the museum. For nearly 36 hours the museum, including its archive and photo-archive was under water. The laboratories were flooded from floor to ceiling.

Just to restore the historic buildings of the museum will cost around 60 million Czech crowns, and that's not to mention the collections, which cannot be valued in financial terms.

Against the odds the museum's sixty staff are working hard to bring the museum back to its original condition. They hope to open their doors again for the public next summer.

FLOOD ACCOUNT

Museum of Central Bohemia in RoztokyMuseum of Central Bohemia in Roztoky You can help them by sending a financial contribution to a special account set up for the purpose. Here are the details:

BANK DETAILS:

Komercni banka Praha
Expozitura Letna
Praha 7
Czech Republic

Account number: 2335-111/0100
Variable symbol: 2002

In order to transfer money to the account, you will also need the following details:

Address of museum:

Stredoceske museum v Roztokach u Prahy
Zamek no. 1
252 63 Roztoky u Prahy

Reason for transfer: You also need to state the reason for the transfer, which you can state in the following terms: "Collection for the preservation of the historic buildings a artifacts of the Museum of Central Bohemia".

Latest news from Radio Prague:

How you can help the flood victims in the Czech Republic:

As Radio Prague has been reporting, the Czech Republic has been hit by catastrophic floods. Those who are interested in giving financial donations, please send them to any of the following accounts that were opened just for this purpose:

People in Need Foundation "SOS - povodnì"
CSOB bank account number: 334334334
Bank code: 0300

We thank you for your help.