Climbing – From the Bohemian Paradise to the Peaks of the World
The landscape of the Bohemian Paradise is replete with sights of historical and natural beauty and so it is fitting that in 1955 it was declared the first Protected Landscape Area in Czechoslovakia. It contains a number of variously sized rock towns as well as free-standing rocks, which is one of the reasons why our region is one of the centres of sandstone climbing in Europe. It attracts thousands of hikers and climbers from all over the world every year. It was not only for these visitors that a new climbing exhibition entitled Climbing – From the Bohemian Paradise to the Peaks of the World was opened in the Museum of the Bohemian Paradise in Turnov in 2019.
The work on this exhibition included the complete refurbishment of the former museum gallery building and the addition of a new floor above it. The architects did not opt for an obvious and superficial installation with imitation rocks to represent the nearby rock towns, but instead went the other way. Rather than depicting nature, the exhibition architecture is stark black and white; the floors and walls are split into various angles of a polygonal structure, but all with the aim of evoking the sense of movement in the rocks and gorges. Visitors have to stay alert while moving around the exhibition, and with every step must realise that the path is not straight, but is winding and often breaks off abruptly.
The climbing exhibition is divided into three basic parts. The introduction presents climbing as a phenomenon that has broken free from the essential necessities of life; something we don’t need to do, but yearn to do. In the next part visitors find out that there are lots of styles and methods involved in reaching one’s destination in the rocks, while the third part comprises the core of the whole exhibition, as it is devoted to the story of climbing in the Bohemian Paradise, a history that dates back more than a hundred years.
The new three-storey exhibition building stands on the site of the former gallery. All that remains of the original premises is its perimeter wall, where for the last more than 40 years there has hung the vast picture entitled The Battle below Hrubá Skála (10 x 8.5 m) by Mikoláš Aleš. That was left in place, and has not only become part of the exhibition, but has also been actively incorporated into it. The show connects classic exhibition techniques with state-of-the-art technologies. Video mapping is used to make the climbers move on the walls and to bring the huge painting to life. The content of the exhibition is complemented by a large interactive screen, which greatly expands on the exhibition descriptions and offers additional information on the topic. The climbing exhibition has two basic aims – to provide information about climbing and to help popularize the sport.
The museum’s extensive collection and research work has resulted not only in this exceptional exhibition, but has also added a large number of climbing-related exhibits to the Turnov museum’s collections. These now include archive materials and audio recordings of world-famous climbers, as well as less familiar ones; what they have in common, however, is that they are all extraordinary figures who have helped the museum staff in their work on the topic and have been a valuable source for further research.
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