If you have a sense of the macabre and like to learn how human beings enjoyed making the lives of others miserable in the past, the Prague Torture Museum could be your ally. However, your faint-hearted travel companions may want to sit outside this Prague attraction in a cozy café or go shopping for souvenirs made in the Czech Republic. This Prague museum contains more than 60 torture devices used in the Middle Ages throughout Europe, not just in the Czech Republic. Each is described in Czech, English, and other languages.
Information panels talk about torture in general, especially about witch hunts in medieval times.
instruments of torture
Instruments of torture found in the museum include chastity belts (male and female versions), iron maidens, and saws intended to separate bodies in half, lengthwise. Learn about the most excruciating ways torturers maimed, inflicted pain, and killed their victims to gain information or inspire them to admit their guilt. Other devices were professional or gender-specific, punishing bad musicians for their offensive art or stopping gossiping women from speaking. When the explanations are not sufficient to allow the viewer to imagine the bloody purpose of these devices, the illustrations show how they were used.
The Torture Museum, because it is small, will only take between 30 and 45 minutes to tour. The museum is housed in a basement dedicated to spooky learning about an aspect of Europe’s inhuman past. If you have some imagination, you will leave the museum feeling pangs of sympathy for those who suffer from the instruments that have long died and you will wonder about the great variety of objects that the museum contains such as agony and humiliation.
To get the haunting images out of your head, consider finding a place to see Prague from a bird’s eye view or looking for some Czech culture. If you want to continue learning more about Prague, the Czech Republic, and some of the country’s most important historical figures and time periods, consider visiting the Museum of Communism, the Mucha Museum, the Kafka Museum, or other museums. Or take a walk through the Old Town, visit Castle Hill, explore the Charles Bridge or see the Jewish Quarter. The Torture Museum, while interesting, will probably only be a footnote to your visit to Prague, whether you’re there for a day or a week.
Location
You will find the Museum of Torture between the Charles Bridge and the Old Town Square. If you’re in that area, most people will be able to point you in the direction you should go.
Křižovnické náměstí 1/194, Prague 1
