Bedřich Smetana Memorial in Jabkenice

Visit a long-term exhibiton of National Museum at a house, where composer lived and worked.

The Smetana Memorial is housed in the age-old gamekeeper’s lodge in the village of Jabkenice not far from Mladá Boleslav. The lodge served as headquarters for the forestry office of the Thurn-Taxis princes who owned the dominion. Josef Schwarz, the husband of Smetana’s oldest daughter Žofie, was here in service of forester from the year 1875.
The composer moved here in 1876 after losing his hearing and spent the final years of his life in this environment. In the gamekeeper’s lodge in Jabkenice he composed many of his most important works: the operas The Kiss (Hubička), The Secret (Tajemství), and The Devil’s Wall (Čertova stěna), both of his string quartets, the piano cycles Dreams (Rêves) and Czech Dances (České tance), and some choral works. He also completed here the cycle of symphonic poems titled My Country (Má vlast).

This exposition, devoted to the life of Smetana and his family in Jabkenice and his works from this period, was opened in 2003.
Its first part documents Smetana’s contacts with the area of Mladá Boleslav before his permanent residence in Jabkenice, and the life of his family and the family of his daughter Žofie in the village.
The second part is devoted to Smetana’s works composed during his life in Jabkenice, their performance and dissemination via concerts and operatic productions and through publication both in Bohemia and abroad. The core of the exposition consists of interiors of Smetana’s study and family salon, including some pieces of furniture from Smetana’s family as well as other authentic memorability. In one room we find a small gallery of artworks by the composer’s grandson Zdeněk Schwarz depicting Jabkenice and the surrounding area, as well as the restored stage curtain of the Jabkenice amateur players, painted in 1877 by Smetana’s wife Betty.

Location: Bedřich Smetana Memorial, 294 45 Jabkenice