“Hello Citizens!”

Born eighty years ago, died prematurely thirty years ago. Karel Kryl. Not merely an author of popular songs, still often played around campfires, but rather an engaged citizen striving to form a critically thinking civil society.

The exhibition will guide you through Karel Kryl's entire life. On the tour, you will have a unique opportunity to view a great number of his manuscripts, drawings, photographs, posters, and personal belongings. Most of the exhibits have not been showcased yet and were only recently transported to the Czech Republic from Germany.

Examine the singer's guitars, personal talismans, and smoking accessories. Discover the lesser-known artistic part of his oeuvre, dominated by expressive oil paintings. Listen to the authentic recordings of Kryl's radio programmes broadcast by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Read the messages his fans sent him from communist Czechoslovakia across the Iron Curtain into exile. Recall his songs and poems – satirical testimonies of the oppression mechanisms after the occupation in August 1968 and the servility of citizens to power during the era of normalisation. See why Kryl did not lower his strict criteria even after the 1989 Velvet Revolution and why he became one of the first critics of the democratic transformation shortcomings.

The MetaHuman technology by Studio Yord allows you to hear Kryl's voice, but what is more – you will meet him face to face in his study and a radio studio.

Join a guided tour and let yourself be led through the exhibition by its creators.

The exhibition has been co-produced by the Museum of Prague and the National Archives.

We look forward to seeing you!