Esperanto Museum in Svitavy

Visit Esperanto museum in Svitavy, the only one of its kind in the Czech Republic.

Starting in September 2008, visitors to the Ottendorfer House in Svitavy can admire rare copies of books published in Esperanto and documents concerning the Esperanto movement in the Czech Republic as well around the world.

Until now, it has been possible to visit similar museums only in Poland or Austria. The museum also includes a research institution equipped, for example, with an electronic dictionary and a library of Esperanto literature. The exhibition features information on the history of Esperanto, dictionaries and a computer with which people may find out further information about Esperanto.

Esperanto is a neutral international language created at the end of the 19th century. Its goal is to enable communication that does not favour any one nationality or its culture. Its basic vocabulary is mostly based on Latin, Greek and words of Germanic origin. Its grammar is simple, without exceptions of any kind, and its pronunciation is consistent with the written form. Simple English grammar served as a model for that of Esperanto. Esperanto is allegedly six times easier to learn than any European language.