The museum building is located on the spot where the birthplace of the poet Petr Bezruč used to stand. The original building was seriously damaged at the end of the Second World War and had to be demolished. In 1946 the Petr Bezruč Society was created in Opava with the aim of gathering artefacts connected to Bezruč and allowing researchers to publish works on the poet. The main goal of the Petr Bezruč Society then became to build a Bezruč museum.
In 1952, the tasks of the above society were assumed by the Silesian Study Institute in Opava, which included a special Petr Bezruč department. Efforts to build a Bezruč museum culminated in the official opening of the Petr Bezruč Memorial exhibition on newly constructed premises on 5th May 1956. In accordance with Bezruč’s last wishes, the Memorial became heir to the poet’s estate, including the copyright to his works. This estate also included the Petr Bezruč Chalet in the village of Ostravice, which contains an exhibition that attempts to convey the atmosphere of the poet’s lifetime. Following the reorganisation of the Silesian Study Institute in 1958, the Memorial came under the administration of the Silesian Museum in Opava.
In the mid-1960s preparations were begun for a new exhibition, which was opened in September 1967 with the title ‘The Life and Works of Petr Bezruč’. Practically unchanged, this exhibition remains within the Memorial to this day. The exhibition outlines the most important moments in the life and works of Bezruč.
Article last updated: 30.07.2012
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