Buštěhrad Museum of Ota Pavel

This museum was created by members of local communal society “Buštěhrad sobě” (“Buštěhrad to itself”): artists Michal Cihlář and Veronika Richterová and Mgr. Ivona Kasalická. It was coming into existence between November 2001 and March 2002 and its exposition was completed thanks to a great cooperation of family and friends, local contemporary witnesses and still alive heroes of Ota Pavel’s stories. The museum was opened owing to the very responsive approach of Pavel family, financial support of regional culture authorities of Kladno district and Central Bohemia Region, company Lux spol. s.r.o. and donations of many other businesses and entrepreneurs. Original location of the museum used to be at “U Rotta” (Palackého Street 56), close by the house of Ota Pavel’s grandparents, where he spent part of his childhood.

In 2015 Buštěhrad the Buštěhrad Municipality, that has been providing the museum with partial financial support over the past few years, offered the museum to be moved to a larger space of the town’s culture centre on Kladenská Street. The new spacious site enabled the exhibition to expand and display more objects. Nowadays you may find here over 1000 items, photographs and unique documents presenting the life of the famous writer. You can take a look at a complete collection of all printed publications of Ota Pavel, ranging from the first rare valuable copies up to the recent editions supplemented by translations of his books into 18 foreign languages. Incredibly special are writer’s original articles of daily use including his typewriter, fishing rods or his childhood teddy bear. Visitors can watch a documentary film about Ota Pavel. In the vestibule there is an exhibition of award-winning artworks of children’s art competition on topic of Ota Pavel’s short stories organised by our museum together with The Central Bohemian Research Library in Kladno in 2019. Part of the museum display is also dedicated to the history of Buštěhrad.