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Summary for: To the moon and back: Dvořák’s humble Bohemian home reopens as a museumNestled along the Vltava River, about 35 km north of Prague, the quiet village of Nelahozeves is dominated by the Renaissance Lobkowicz Castle. It was here, just a short walk from the castle and across from the village train station, that renowned Czech composer Antonín Dvořák was born on Sept. 8, 1841, the son of the local butcher and innkeeper.
Exactly 184 years after Dvořák’s birth, Nelahozeves is once again alive with activity. After years of planning, pandemic delays, and a CZK 150 million investment, crowds gathered this week to celebrate the reopening of the childhood home of the composer whose New World Symphony was carried to the moon.
Under the stewardship of the Lobkowicz family, whose passion for classical music and the arts has driven the village’s revitalization, what was once a humble tavern is now a lasting tribute to one of the world’s greatest composers and the environment that shaped him.
Antonin Dvořák“Look there at the little village with the long name of Nelahozeves. And there, just below the castle of Prince Lobkowicz, that low building…do you see it? It was in that little house that I was born, and here in this lovely countryside that I spent my poor childhood”
'This house deserves a new life'
The Dvořák Birth House is one of several ambitious cultural projects led by the House of Lobkowicz, which also operates Lobkowicz Palace at Prague Castle and the magnificent Roudnice and Střekov Castles.
“It wasn’t easy, but we knew we couldn’t give up—this house deserves a new life,” says William Lobkowicz, the Boston-born descendant of one of Bohemia’s oldest noble families, who returned permanently to the Czech Republic after decades in exile in the U.S.
Lobkowicz describes Dvořák’s music as rooted in the everyday. “It was born of church bells and birdsong, train whistles and river boats, the clink of glasses, and the hum of the village around him.”
In collaboration with award-winning UK architects Wright & Wright and under the guidance of musicologist Eleonore Kinsky, the Dvořák house brings those elements to life. Eleven themed rooms with over 100 audio triggers blending narration, reenactments, ambient sounds, and music that transports visitors to young Antonín’s childhood.
“Our intention is to provide visitors of all generations with a truly interactive experience, to explore things up close, lift them, touch them, and at the same time listen carefully,” says Kinsky.
More than just a museum, the Lobkowicz family aims to transform the space, and by extension, the village, into a lively cultural and community center. The museum will host educational activities, music therapy workshops, concerts, and even a soon-to-be-opened meditation garden.
Speaking in absentia, Czech President Petr Pavel said, “The revival of Antonín Dvořák’s birthplace and legacy will be a source of inspiration for future generations.”
To the moon and back
Dvořák eventually moved to Prague, traveled to Paris and London, and went on to head the National Conservatory of New York. During his stay in the U.S., he famously composed his Ninth Symphony From the New World.
In 1969, astronaut Neil Armstrong carried a recording of Dvořák’s symphony on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. “We can rightly be proud that the man whose music conquered the world and reached the moon was Czech,” said President Pavel.
The restoration of Dvořák’s birthplace by the Czech-American Lobkowicz family brings the composer’s journey full circle, linking his astronomical legacy, as the only composer to have a symphony leave Earth’s orbit, back to the rural Bohemian village where it all began.
“The birthplace of Antonín Dvořák is a site of truly global importance,” Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský said, speaking at the grand opening.
Antonín Dvořák Birth House is open every day, except Mondays, from 9 am to 5 pm.
