House of Lobkowicz will present the Antonín Dvořák Birth House museum and creative center at EXPO 2025, Osaka

One of the most important projects that will be presented as part of the Czech pavilion at the EXPO 2025 World Exhibition in Osaka, Japan, will be the birthplace of Antonín Dvořák in Nelahozeves. William Lobkowicz and Ondřej Soška, General Commissioner of the Czech participation in Expo 2025, confirmed this exciting news by signing a memorandum of cooperation on Monday, June 26, 2023.

"We are very pleased that thanks to the cooperation with the Expo team, we will be able to tell the story of Antonín Dvořák's birthplace, and share its greatness with the whole world," said William Lobkowicz at the ceremonial signing of the memorandum in the Lobkowicz Palace, which was attended, among others, by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavský, and Hideo Suzuki, Ambassador of Japan to the Czech Republic.

The organizers of the Czech participation in EXPO 2025 in Osaka did not choose this project by chance. "Antonín Dvořák is one of the most important figures in Czech history. His work still resonates around the world and his work is extremely popular. I didn't meet anyone in Japan who didn't know Antonín Dvořák's music. I believe that his phenomenal life story can inspire many people not only in Japan, but also in the Czech Republic," says Ondřej Soška, general commissioner of the Czech participation.

Antonín Dvořák's birthplace, located in the village of Nelahozeves, approximately 30 kilometers north of Prague, is currently being renovated, and in April 2024 a world-class museum and creative cultural center will be opened here. The building of the former inn, in which Antonín Dvořák was born, has been a cultural monument since 1958, together with the neighboring buildings of the farm. The Lobkowicz family got the ancestral house back as part of restitution in 1993, but it was managed by the National Museum until 2019. At the beginning of 2023, a complete building reconstruction began, carried out by the company Lobkowicz Collections, o.p.s. belonging to the cultural organization House of Lobkowicz.

Additionally, new buildings will be completed. From January 2024, a cutting-edge museum exhibition will be installed here, which will be innovative both in terms of the technology it uses as well as the curatorial concept and approach to the visitor. The future museum aims to connect music with the genius loci of Dvořák's birthplace and introduce audiences to the atmosphere of a small Central Bohemian village in the first half of the 19th century.

The project's purpose is to expand awareness of Dvořák's childhood and the influences and inspirations that shaped his personality and his future work both in the Czech Republic and abroad. "We want to place Nelahozeves on the cultural map of the world and create a museum here that will properly represent a composer of Dvořák's importance," adds William Lobkowicz. In addition to the permanent museum exhibition, the grounds of Antonín Dvořák's birthplace will also offer space for a unique educational and concert program and cultural events of different kinds.