The Geographical library and the Map Collection of the Faculty of Science of Charles University in cooperation with the National Library of the Czech Republic and the Library of the Catholic Theological Faculty of Charles University organize the exhibition The First Czech Museum: missionary collectors.
The exhibition builds on the previous exhibitions Czech Jesuits, Travellers and Explorers (at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, 2006) and the Mathematical Museum (at the National Library of the Czech Republic, 2023).
In the Jesuit Clementinum, a collection of instruments and curiosities, called the Mathematical Museum (1722-1785), was expanded from the mid-17th century. The meaning of the word mathematics was broader than today. The museum included astronomical instruments, globes, clocks, mechanical toys and botanical, zoological and mineralogical collections, including a specialist Mathematical Library. In 1722 the Mathematical Museum was opened to the public, one of the first in Bohemia and Europe.
The exhibits came mostly from the missions of members of the Jesuit Order, from their inventions or from donations. These included Indian hats, an Indian hat from Brazil, or a Congolese pillow from the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries. These objects are part of the collections of the Náprstek Museum. However, there were also other collections, such as collections of coins, paintings, curiosities of various kinds and, last but not least, natural history. The exhibition also included two sextants by Tycho Brahe.
With the abolition of the Jesuit order in 1773, the museum began to deteriorate and was closed down and sold off in 1785. Some of the instruments are in the possession of the National Library, such as the globes by Kaspar Pflüger and Vincenzo Coronelli OFM. The sextants of Tycho Brahe are in the National Technical Museum, others are in foreign museums.
After the end of the Thirty Years' War, Jesuits from the Czech Jesuit Province also left for missions. During one century, about 160 missionaries left. In the 18th century, it was possible to meet missionaries from Bohemia not only in South America, but also in India, in Cochinchina (today's Vietnam), in China, as well as in the Philippines and the Mariana Islands. Others worked in northern Europe and Russia. Czech missionaries stood out as hardy and persistent travellers, explorers and good cartographers. In addition to their spiritual ministry, they devoted themselves to scientific research in history. They also sent samples from their travels to Clementinum. In addition to theology, philosophy, and languages, many Jesuits excelled in other fields. They were excellent philologists, architects, musicians, botanists and pharmacists.
The first group from Bohemia left for Latin America in 1678. The most famous personality was Simon Boruhradsky S.J., called Spain de Castro, who worked in Mexico for twenty years. He proved to be a brilliant water engineer. According to his own design, he built a waterworks to protect Mexico City from periodic floods caused by tributaries of Lake Texcoco.
Especially impressive testimonies were provided by the biographies of the martyrs. Together with P. Jan Tilp S.J., P. Augustin Strobach S.J. was the first Czech in Micronesia. He worked in the Marianas Islands, where he was killed. The second Czech martyr, P. Václav Jindřich Richter S.J. created the map of the Ucayali River. In 1684, new Jesuits left: Jiří Brandt S.J., Jiří Burger S.J. and Samuel Fritz S.J. Of this group, probably the most famous was the native of Trutnov, Samuel Fritz S.J., who worked pastorally in the Amazon basin for forty years and became the author of the first map of the Amazon. Mexico became the destination of the third Czech Jesuit expedition (1686). It is associated with the names of the brothers Adam Gilg S.J., the author of the map of Pimeria, and the poet from Tarahumara, Jiří Hostinský S.J. In 1687, doctors and pharmacists went to the Philippine missions: Jiří Camel S.J., Jan Haller S.J., Vilém Illig S.J. and others. Carl Linné named the genus Camellia in honor of the botanist Camel. In the fifth expedition of 1692, Václav Eymer S.J., who had worked in the missions for over thirty years, came to Tarahumara. In the sixth expedition (1693) to Latin America went František Boryně S.J. and Václav Bryer S.J., protectors of the Indians. The Philippine expedition of 1729 was attended by Lawrence John S.J., Ignatius Keller S.J., John Kleisinger S.J., and other brothers. We also recall the activities of musician, astronomer and cartographer Karel Slavíček S.J. and his entourage in China. The long missionary activity of the Order and Professor Ludvík Armbruster S.J. in Japan is not left out.
Jesuit social communes called reductions were mapped in South America and supplemented with demographic data.
The travel was difficult. Some missionaries died during the voyage at sea and others were killed by the natives. Most perished at the hands of Europeans in the forced deportations after the Order's dissolution in 1773. The fate of the missionaries is brought to the attention of visitors to the exhibition by excerpts from authentic letters from the missions.
The exhibition is also accompanied by original photographs by Pavel Fochler, who travelled through the Jesuit missions. Visitors can see many interesting old maps and documents from the mission area, including a copy of the Amazon map by S. Fritz S.J.
Special thanks to Mgr. Tereza Paličková from the National Library of the Czech Republic for the loan of the exhibition. Also Mgr. Kateřina Bajtlová from the KTF UK library for lending books for the exhibition.
Contact to the authors of the exhibition from the Faculty of Science of Charles University: Bc. Prokop Myslivec myslivepr@natur.cuni.cz, PhDr. Eva Novotná, Ph.D. novotn48@natur.cuni.cz,
Author of the exhibition from the National Library of the Czech Republic: RNDr. Jana Vačkářová Jana.Vackarova@nkp.cz