Kourim Open-Air Museum
Buildings moved here from areas that were flooded or demolished, including houses that no longer exist anywhere.
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The Kourim skansen was founded in 1972 with a particular purpose: to rescue timber buildings from regions where they were about to be destroyed, chiefly the valleys flooded for reservoirs and the areas cleared for open-cast coal in north-west Bohemia. That gives the collection its character - the buildings come from across Bohemia rather than from one region, and several represent types that no longer survive anywhere in situ. There are about thirty structures, including a fourteenth-century bell tower from Nemcice, one of the oldest wooden buildings in the country, a mill, a smithy, granaries and farmsteads furnished by period. The town of Kourim itself has a very large Gothic church of St Stephen with a separate bell tower and a crypt, and an early Slavic hillfort site nearby. Demonstrations and craft events run through the season.
What you actually see
- Buildings rescued from destruction - moved from flooded valleys and mining areas.
- A bell tower of the 1300s - among the oldest wooden buildings in the country.
- Types that survive nowhere else - forms lost in their original regions.
- Furnished farmsteads - arranged by period across about thirty structures.
When to go
April to October. Half a day.
Honest expectations
Seasonal opening, closed in winter. Some interiors need a guide. Labelling is largely Czech. The site is smaller than the Moravian skansens and the walking is easy.
Nearby
Kolin is north-east; Kutna Hora is east.
What to pack for Kourim Open-Air Museum
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
