Freemasons

27. 9. - 26. 11. 2023

Exhibition with the subtitle Freemasonry through the eyes of Freemasons.

Gallery in the ground floor and basement space of the New Town Hall.

The Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic, uniting 28 Masonic Lodges from all over the country, is commemorating the centenary of its founding. The Freemasons have taken it upon themselves to arrange an exhibition in honour of this milestone, providing insight into their historical background and ongoing endeavours. 

The exhibition is presented in two languages, Czech and English.

www.100vlcr.cz

A Century of Czech Freemasonry

This year, the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic (VLČR) is celebrating the 100^th anniversary of its consecration. To mark the occasion, the members of the VLČR have organized the Freemasons exhibition, subtitled Freemasonry through the eyes of Freemasons, with the aim of giving the general public an overview of its history and an insight into its current activities. The exhibition will include a reconstruction of an installation by Alphonse Mucha called The Last Work, which was destroyed in WWII. The exhibition takes place at the New Town Hall in Prague from September 27^th to November 26^th, 2023.

"Freemasonry has been deeply rooted in the Czech, and earlier Czechoslovak, society for a whole century. During that time it has bridged many gaps, resisting the pressures of brown and red totalitarianism. It still remains, drawing on its rich history, being active in the present and looking to the future with confidence", says the current Grand Master of the Order, Petr Komárek, on the occasion of the centenary.

This exhibition presents authentic Masonic objects and a replica of a Masonic Temple. This room, in which Masonic Lodges meet for ritual work, is prepared as authentically as possible, including Masonic symbols and objects such as the original stained glass window Moon, Delta, Sun. The exhibition also enables visitors to look into the “Chamber of Reflection”, a small room where candidates for entry into the Order prepare for their initiation.

In this extensive exhibition, and for the first time, all 28 active Lodges under the VLČR, from all over the Czech Republic, will present their rich histories and the important characters who made up their memberships. In addition to Prague, Lodges from Brno, Ostrava, Pilsen, Mariánské Lázně, Hradec Králové, Olomouc, České Budějovice and Ústí nad Labem are participating. In addition to Czech language, the Lodges include those operating in German, English, French, Italian and, since 2022, Spanish. For this reason the exhibition is bilingual, with all information and labels in Czech and English.

This exhibition has been prepared by the Freemasons in cooperation with the New Town Hall (NR) in Prague, and takes place in the NR’s seven gallery halls and Gothic basement spaces.

Exhibition dates: 27 September to 26 November 2023

Times: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (30‘ lunch break between 12-1.30 p.m.)

Location: Gallery on the ground floor and basement, Novoměstská radnice, Karlovo nám. 1/23, Prague 2.

Entrance fee: Full 149 CZK, reduced 80 CZK

Press release

A Century of Czech Freemasonry

(Prague, 26^th September 2023) This year, the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic (VLČR) is celebrating the 100^th anniversary of its consecration. To mark the occasion, the members of the VLČR have organized the Freemasons exhibition, subtitled Freemasonry through the eyes of Freemasons, with the aim of giving the general public an overview of its history and an insight into its current activities. The exhibition will include a reconstruction of an installation by Alphonse Mucha called The Last Work, which was destroyed in WWII. The exhibition takes place at the New Town Hall in Prague from September 27^th to November 26^th, 2023.

„Serious gentlemen in black suits passing mysterious signs to each other and searching for hidden mysteries in the glimmering illumination of candlelight, while anxiously guarding their identity... This is the romantic image of a Freemason. Freemasonry has been deeply rooted in Czech, and earlier Czechoslovak society for a whole century. During that time it has bridged many gaps, resisting the pressures of brown and red totalitarianism, and still it continues, drawing from its rich history, being active in the present and looking to the future with confidence. Czech masons are beings of flesh and blood, they are living people with everything inherent in man. And they can also afford, at least once every hundred years, to pull back the curtain and give others a momentary glimpse into their world,“ says the current Grand Master of the order, Petr Komárek, on the occasion of the centenary.

The Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic (www.vlcr.cz), headed by the Grand Master, is the largest Masonic jurisdiction, or union of lodges, in our country. Its membership recently exceeded 600. It is an organization that belongs to the mainstream of world Freemasonry and maintains friendly relations with the United Grand Lodge of England. According to these rules of that body, there can only be one such obedience in a given territory. In addition, it is mutually recognized with more than 200 Grand Lodges worldwide.

In this extensive exhibition, and for the first time, all 28 active Lodges under the VLČR, from all over the Czech Republic, will present their rich histories and the important characters who made up their memberships. In addition to Prague, Lodges from Brno, Ostrava, Pilsen, Mariánské Lázně, Hradec Králové, Olomouc, České Budějovice and Ústí nad Labem are participating, and in addition to the Czech language, the Lodges include those operating in German, English, French, Italian and, since 2022, Spanish. For this reason the exhibition is bilingual, with all information and labels in Czech and English.

„This exhibition presents authentic Masonic objects and a replica of a Masonic Temple. This room, in which Masonic Lodges meet for ritual work, is prepared as authentically as possible, including Masonic symbols and objects such as the original stained glass window of the Moon, Delta, and Sun. The exhibition also enables visitors to look into the ‘Chamber of Reflection’, a small room where candidates for entry into the Order prepare for their initiation,“ says the curator of the exhibition Jan Dvořák.

Other ‘higher’ or ‘side degrees’ that operate in our territory with the consent of the VLČR will also be presented. Specifically, the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (www.scottishrite.cz), the Scottish Royal Arch Chapter, the Ancient and Primitive Rite of Memphis-Misraim and the French Chapter.

The exhibition also gives information about Slovak Freemasonry, as the Slovak lodges were part of the VLČR until the establishment of the independent Grand Lodge of Slovakia (www.vls.sk) in 2009.

The VLČR is the direct successor of the National Grand Lodge of Czechoslovakia (NVLČs), which was founded in 1923. Since then, the body has been continuously recognized internationally. The VLČR also harks back to the tradition of the German Grand Lodge “Lessing at the Three Rings” (“Lessing zu den drei Ringen”), which operated on the territory of Czechoslovakia until 1938. The third tradition which the VLČR continues is that of the Czech and Moravian Masonic Lodges of the 18th century. The activities of these masonic organisations were not, however, in continuous development but were regularly interrupted due to the disapproval of the ruling monarchs and prohibitions by the Nazi and Communist regimes.

"From the perspective of a Czech Freemason, the establishment of the Grand Lodge in 1923 marked an important milestone in the process of cementing a distinct and enlightened Order within our homeland. The fact that we are still here, one hundred years later in 2023, not only attests to the success of our journey, but, above all, extends a bold invitation to embark on the next century of collectively realising humanistic visions and confronting the challenges of the present. Freemasonry has a promising future," adds Grand Master Petr Komárek.

This exhibition has been prepared by the Freemasons in cooperation with the New Town Hall (NR) in Prague, and takes place in the NR’s seven gallery halls and Gothic basement spaces. "The New Town Hall is pleased to host the exhibition to mark the 100^th anniversary of the consecration of the Grand Lodge of the Czech Republic, because historically this place intersects with the story of the Freemasons, at least on a symbolic level. The beautiful Gothic pillared hall alludes to the craftsmanship of the medieval stone masons, a subject closely related to Masonic symbolism itself," adds the NR’s director, Albert Kubišta.

Exhibition dates: 27 September to 26 November 2023

Times: Tuesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (30‘ lunch break from 12.00 to 1.30 p.m.)

Location: Gallery on the ground floor and basement, Novoměstská radnice, Karlovo nám. 1/23, Prague 2.

Entrance fee: Full 149 CZK, reduced 80 CZK

Media Contact: Libor Adamec, media@100vlcr.cz, +420 606 306 762