History of the museum in Vysoké Mýto

History of the museum in Vysoké Mýto, one of the oldest regional museums in the Czech Republic, dates back to 1871. Educated miller and town councillor Karel Richter gave the direct impulse for its foundation. Then more than two hundred things were gathered from the gifts of the local citizens. There were especially paintings and coins which were later put into one room in the town hall. An initial passion soon began to fade away and in 1877 all museum activities were stopped. After six years a young architect Josef Škorpil took care of abandoned collections. Later he was the director and confirmed constructor of the Artistic-industrial museum in Pilzen. Thanks to him the museum committee was constituted, museum order was accepted and collections moved to the repaired Prague Tower and were made public for citizens. Museum personnel gathered antiquities in the town and travelled to nearby but also further villages to gain them. Some things were exhibited on County Anniversary exhibition (Zemská jubilejní) /1891/ and Ethnical exhibition /1895/ in Prague. In 1912 the museum moved to the birth-house of the prominent person of the Czech national revival - A. V. Šembera.

In case of territorial reorganization in 1960 and with the creation of the new county Ústí nad Orlicí the museum in Vysoké Mýto was changed because of its tradition and value of the collections to the county museum. In an accordant way they expanded collecting and methodical activities, the museum was professionalised subsequently and collections underwent expert processing. Still enlarging funds constrained an expanse to other two council houses in the next decades. Since 2003 the museum has been administred by the Pardubice region and functions as regional.