Gallery

The Gallery is situated in the baroque Town Hall at the centre of Polička. This architectonical jewel is listed as a National Cultural Heritage site, along with the Marian Column and two fountains located on the same town square. The magnificent Town Hall was once the place where important decisions were made during the sessions of the town council, with a burgomaster as their leader, and it became a treasury of artworks a few centuries later. The heart of the Town hall is hidden within its tower – an original Gothic chapel that survived through the ages; however, the two-story Baroque chapel, with its original wall paintings and furnishings, is equally unique.

Nowadays, the Town Hall is filled with stories which will lead you into the world of art. Hohenems’ collection tells the romantic as well as dramatic stories of the distinguished aristocratic family. The Garden Party is a paining that is unusual not only by its size but also by the number of people depicted. The portrait of this size is unique in Central Europe. Unusual treasures, including the legendary unicorn’s horn, can be found in the Kaspar von Hohenems’ Cabinet of Curios.

Another extraordinary story is that of Vojtěch Eduard Šaff, a talented sculptor who was born and raised in Polička. His talent was such that he was approached by the authors of the National Museum construction project and even today his Allegory of Earth and Allegory of Air are gazing down from their cornices on the bustling Wenceslas Square.

The changes that our region went through are captured in the paintings of the Landscape Artists of the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands. The modern view of the surrounding world is represented in the works of artists who are connected to Polička in many aspects of their life.