Christmas at the Dvořák Family Home

60 Minutes

In the past, the Advent season was much more than it is today—a time full of customs and traditions, festive foods, reflection, and anticipation. Join us to experience what the most magical holiday of the year might have looked like in a small village near Prague, back when the Vltava River still froze over and Christmas melodies drifted from the Dvořák family inn. The program is divided into two parts: a short interactive tour of the exhibition and a hands-on workshop where children will create a traditional Advent decoration inspired by the time of Dvořák’s childhood.

The program runs from December 1 to December 19, 2025.

Age Group:  Grades 1–5

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Program Duration: 60 minutes

Capacity: 25

Admission: 130 CZK

Reserve

Treasures of the Lobkowicz Collections

90 minutes (exhibition tour including workshop)

Discover the treasure trove that is the Lobkowicz Collections with a guided tour of the permanent exhibition at the Lobkowicz Palace in Prague Castle. Students will be introduced to selected themes and objects on display. Highlights include the Infant Jesus of Prague, pomander, dinner services, and Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s Haymaking. The tour will be followed by two interactive workshops in which students will use special techniques to create Renaissance jewelry, as well as learn about the basic principles of landscape painting.

Age Group: 5–11 years old 

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Program Duration: 90 minutes 

Capacity: 25 + 2x teachers/guardians for free (please contact us for larger group requests) 

Admission: 80 CZK per student

Learning Outcomes: Children learn the basic components of pre-modern society and can name them (ruler, nobility, church, subjects), understand the importance of noble portraits for representation and communication, familiarize themselves with the history of pomander, and identify the periods of Renaissance painting. 

Subjects: Art and Culture 

Location: Lobkowicz Palace

Reserve

Pernstein Salon Tour

70-80 minutes

Just like the ruling Habsburgs, the Pernstein family left an indelible mark on Bohemian culture and history—beginning with the arrival of the Spanish noblewoman Maria Manrique de Lara y Mendoza, wife of Vratislav Pernstein, to Prague in the 16th century. This program introduces students to the court life of the Habsburg rulers, as well as that of the Pernstein and Lobkowicz families. The interrelation of these families, as well as the influence of Spanish culture, will also be explored. Through theory and activities, students will not only learn about Czech history at the height of the Renaissance, but also discover the treasures collected by the Pernstein and Lobkowicz families.

Age Group: 12–18 years old  

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Program Duration: 70–80 minutes

Capacity: 20–25 + 2 teachers/guardians for free 

Admission: 120 CZK per student 

Learning Outcomes: Students understand the historical and cultural influence of the Habsburg, Pernstein, and Lobkowicz families on the Bohemian Kingdom, including the art collection they accrued, contextualize the  

Subjects: History, Art History, Culture, European and Global Political Affairs 

Location: Lobkowicz Palace

Reserve

Portrait in Music

90 minutes

Calling all music lovers! Discover the rich musical heritage of the Lobkowicz Collections and family as told in the music galleries of the permanent exhibition at the Lobkowicz Palace. The tour will introduce you to a chronological musical narrative that spans over 300 years, as well as the influential musical happenings in Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries. The history of music is presented in the context of European cultural and historical events using multimedia elements, including listening to music. The program emphasizes the role of Czech aristocracy and local artists in the cultivation of European musical culture. Students will also take part in a creative workshop to essentialize key takeaways.  

Age Group: 13–18 years old (middle and high school students) 

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Program Duration: 90 minutes

Capacity: 20 max 

Admission: 120 CZK per student + 2 teachers/guardians for free (please contact us for larger group requests)

Learning Outcomes: Students gain knowledge and understanding of the musical history of the Lobkowicz Collections and its connection to European cultural and historical events. 

Subjects: Music, European Culture and History

Location: Nelahozeves Castle 

Prerequisites/Notes: This program is catered to students with music backgrounds or music-focused areas of study. It is also available for any age group interested in the theme of music. 

Reserve

Discovering the Lobkowicz Collections

90 minutes (including workshop)

Join us for a playful guided tour of Nelahozeves Castle, introducing you to a range of subjects and historical objects that span the vast Lobkowicz Collections. Individual tasks, combined with an accompanying worksheet, relate to the subjects of music, fine and decorative arts. Highlighted themes include historic globes (the subject for a subsequent workshop), genealogy, Beethoven, Peter Paul Rubens’ Hygeia Nourishing the Sacred Serpent, hygiene, and Luis de Caullery’s Five Senses in the Garden of Love. 

Age Group: 7–11 years old

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Program Duration: 90 minutes

Capacity: 25 + 2x teachers/guardians for free (please contact us for larger group requests)

Admission: 150 CZK per student 

Learning Outcomes: Students learn about the highlights of the Lobkowicz Collections and family history, understand the importance of historical art collections and their cultural role in society today, and identify the elements of Renaissance architecture. 

Subjects: Art History, History, Architecture 

Location: Nelahozeves Castle 

Notes/Prerequisites: This tour is additionally offered to families on weekends.

Reserve

Cabinet of Curiosities

90 minutes (including workshop)

Discover cabinets of curiosities—the Renaissance precursors to modern museums and art collections as we know them today. These cabinets included rare and exotic objects representing the natural wonders and oddities of the world. This program allows students to learn about the history of these cabinets and their contents (including when, how, and who first created them) by studying a fascinating example from the Lobkowicz Collections: xylotheque. These wondrous wooden books are made from the bark of trees. Inside they hold the original twigs, leaves, blossoms, dried fruits, and sometimes even parasites that would have damaged those trees. The largest historic collection in the Czech Republic is housed at Nelahozeves Castle. The first half of the program includes an interactive discussion; the second half of the program invites students to create their own xylotheque to take home. Younger students will create a more simplified version. 

Age Group: 6–13 years old

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Program Duration: 90 minutes

Capacity: 20 + 2x teachers/guardians for free (please contact us for larger group requests)  

Admission: 150 CZK per student

Learning Outcomes: Children gain knowledge in the history of cabinets of curiosities, understanding when, how and who first created them, understand the anatomy of trees, and develop new skills by applying the basic material principles of xylotheque to create a modern-day version.

Subjects: History, Art, Natural History

Location: Nelahozeves Castle 

Prerequisites/Notes: We ask that children collect their own natural materials in advance for the workshop (twigs, leaves, flowers, fruits, any other parts of a tree or bush). Younger children need materials which will be shared among the whole group; older students need their own materials. More information will be given upon booking. The program only includes a partial tour of the exhibition at Nelahozeves Castle. Students will visit two selected rooms related to the theme of the program. This program is only offered between April–October. 

Reserve

The Looming Noon Witch

90 minutes

“By the bench there stood an infant…” This famous opening verse of Czech poet and folklorist Karel Jaromír Erben’s poem Polednice (“The Noon Witch”) inspired Antonín Dvořák to create his own symphonic rendition. This program invites you to discover the words that united these two celebrated figures from Czech history who shared a passion for folklore. For the theoretical portion of the program, students will listen to different parts of the symphonic poem and identify individual instruments which represent its featured stories and characters. For the practical portion, they will be tasked with using the music as inspiration to reenact and interpret the poem. These theatrical interpretations will be photographed as a memento and visual accompaniment to the poem. 

Age Group: 15–13 years old (elementary and middle school students)

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Program Duration: 90 minutes

Capacity: 20 + 2 teachers/guardians free (please contact us for larger group requests)

Admission: 90 CZK per student 

Learning Outcomes: Students will become familiar with the work of Erben and Dvořák, apply their listening and comprehension skills, and deepen their creative exploration of poetry and music to inspire their own artistic interpretation—just like Dvořák. 

Subjects: Literature, Poetry, Music, Art and Culture 

Location: Antonín Dvořák Birth House  

Prerequisites/Notes: This program was developed in cooperation with Blanka Dragounová and Edita Roberts from Velvary Primary School and Michaela Kuptíková from Kralupy nad Vltavou Primary School. The program does not include a tour of the museum.

Reserve

Melodies of Childhood: Walking in the Footsteps of Antonín Dvořák

60 minutes

Step into the shoes of a young and impressionable Antonín Dvořák to discover the places that shaped him and his future music. As you meander through Nelahozeves, you will uncover the hidden stories of his childhood—helping his parents in the inn, studying music in the local school, and the excitement of watching trains go by on the newly constructed railroad. The walk will also be accompanied with music likely inspired by the visited sites, as well as an interactive worksheet—enabling each footstep to echo the melodies of Dvořák’s life story.  

Age Group: 8–15 years old

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Program Duration: 60 minutes  

Capacity: 25 students max + 2x teachers/guardians for free 

Admission: 80 CZK per student 

Learning Outcomes: Students gain a deeper understanding of the important role of Nelahozeves as a place of inspiration and influence on the formation of Dvořák’s personality, become acquainted with the composer’s well-known compositions, and develop their navigational skills using a map.  

Subjects: Music History, History 

Location: Antonín Dvořák Birth House

Prerequisites/Notes: The length of the route is about 1 km. It starts and ends at the Antonín Dvořák Birth House.

Reserve

Outdoor Adventures with Little Antonín

60 minutes

Travel back in time to the 1840s and explore the village of Nelahozeves through the eyes of Antonín Dvořák. Using a mobile app to serve as your musical map, discover the treasured places that inspired one of the world’s greatest composers by fulfilling a series of tasks throughout your journey. The game can be played in groups, pairs, or alone.

Age Group:  8–12 years old 

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Program Duration: 60 minutes

Capacity: 30

Admission: 50 CZK

Learning Outcomes: Children become familiar with the places in Nelahozeves that inspired little Antonín Dvořák and practice their navigational skills using a map. 

Subjects: Music History, History 

Location: Antonín Dvořák Birth House

Prerequisites/Notes: It is necessary that at least one person in the group has a smart phone with internet connection. During the game, local roads are crossed.

Reserve

Curator Challenge

3–4 months

The Curator Challenge is a program that allows students to assume the role of curators to inspect, document, and research an uncatalogued object from the Lobkowicz Collections. Their task is to determine what the objects are, how they were used historically, and what impact they had on society. After completing their research, students present their findings at the Lobkowicz Palace or Nelahozeves Castle to peers, parents, teachers, and the Lobkowicz Collections team. We have been facilitating this program since it was first developed in 2010 by Alexandra Lobkowicz in cooperation with the International School of Prague. The accredited program won a TieCare International Service Learning Award from the Central and Eastern European School Association in 2014.

Age Group: This program can be adjusted for different age groups, from 11–13 years old (middle school students) to 18–22 years old (undergraduate students)

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Program Duration: 3–4 months 

(hands-on analysis of objects + research period + final presentation) 

Capacity: Adjustable based on individual requests 

Admission: Adjustable based on individual requests

Learning Outcomes: Students gain critical thinking and research skills, develop a greater understanding of the purpose and provenance of their objects, and enhance their public presentation capabilities.  

Subjects: History, Art History 

Location: Lobkowicz Palace, Nelahozeves Castle 

Prerequisites/Notes: Please note this program requires considerable planning and preparation well in advance. Thus, our team has limited capacity for its frequency and availability in one academic year. If you are interested in learning more, please contact us. 

Reservation by personal arrangement

Dita Baker

Director of Administration and Educational Programming

mailto:dita.baker@lobkowicz.cz

References

Sunny Canadian International School

Vážená paní ředitelko,

obracím se na Vás na základě zkušenosti s účastí naší školy v programu Mladý kurátor. Ohlasy na Váš program a výkony dětí jsou i po dvou měsících krásné. Rádi bychom proto v naší spolupráci pokračovali a rezervovali si jako škola program i pro příští školní rok...

Arcibiskupské gymnázium v Kroměříži

Vážený pane doktore,  
ještě jednou moc děkuji za program. Pro mě skvělé doplnění k hudebním dějinám. Skutečné osvěžení na konci školního roku.

Mgr. Lenka Pospíšilová
Arcibiskupské gymnázium v Kroměříži 

ZŠ Zámecká Litomyšl

Dobrý den paní Baker,  

moc děkujeme za program, který jste pro nás připravili. Moc se nám u vás líbilo, výklad byl skvěle uzpůsoben naší věkové kategorii, spousta zajímavých informací o tom, jak se dováželo exotické ovoce, proč se nosila černá apod. - to přesně žáky v tomhle věku zajímá. Interaktivní aktivity byly výborné, pro naše žáky místy trošku těžší, nedaly jsme jim s kolegyní žádné info předem, chtěly jsme, aby se vše dozvěděli až v Praze :) Moc děkujeme také panu Malému za velmi příjemné přijetí, přípravu exkurze a způsob, kterým se mu podařilo přiblížit dobu i život Marie Manrique pro žáky "stravitelným" způsobem :)

Sunny Canadian International School, Mladý kurátor

Dobrý den, paní ředitelko,

dovolte mi Vám ještě jednou poděkovat za pondělní večer. Všichni byli nadšení. Rodiče mi píšou, že to byl pro ně zážitek, děti jsou na sebe pyšné a vedení školy bylo také spokojené. Anglická paní učitelka mi v úterý ráno přišla říct, že večer nemohla spát, z celé akce byla dojatá a došla k názoru, že už nic lepšího v rámci školy nezažije.