1.
GV EXTERIOR: long queues of people outside Prague Castle
0.08

2.
SV INTERIOR AND CUs: people looking at exhibits. (3 shots)
0.16

3.
CU: statue of Charles IV, Czech King and Roman Emperor
0.22

4.
SV PAN: other statues including St. Vitus, St. Vojtech, St. Sigismund.
0.32

5.
CU: diagram of the plan for the development and enlargement of Prague in the reign of Charles IV.
0.34

6.
CU PAN: documents concerning the foundation of the University of Prague in 1384.
0.42

7.
CU: facsimile of the Foundation Document and the University seal. (2 shots)
0.50

8.
GV: Hall where exhibits are displayed.
0.54

9.
CU: jewellery from Slavonic burial ground and golden ear-ring from the Great Moravian Empire. (2 shots)
1.02

10.
CU ZOOM OUT: sword from a 9th century grave.
1.09

11.
CU AND SV: skull and royal insignia of Premysl Otakar II. (2 shots)
1.17

12.
CU: illumination on page and page from a copy of the Kutna Hora Decree. (2 shots)
1.26

13.
CUs: Czech coronation jewels (3 shots)
1.57

14.
SV PAN FROM: coronation jewels TO crowds filing past.
2.03



Initials RH/2230



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: In Czechoslovakia the government has mounted a major exhibition of artefacts relating to the history of the ethnic groups that make up the nation. In the largest exhibition of its type ever held in Czechoslovakia, the key point in their development are highlighted for the public. Some of the items on show were discovered within the late last decade.

SYNOPSIS: Each day about 5,000 visitors see the exhibition. Many of them queue outside Prague Castle to see the central part of the display. illustrating the times of Charles the Fourth, Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor who lived in the fourteenth century.

Among more than a thousand items on show, some of the most valuable relate to Charles the Fourth. The Exhibition emphasises his affect on the history of the region, including documents showing his role in founding the university in Prague. The university became a centre of medieval learning, with influence throughout Europe. A facsimile of the foundation document is displayed.

The Romanesque Palace of Prague Castle is devoted to the early origins of the Czechs and Slovaks. Some items, including jewellery from ninth and tenth century burial grounds, have been unearthed since 1971. A sword of the same vintage also came from recent excavations.

The skull of Premysl Otakar the Second survives from the thirteenth century, along with the treasures he was buried with. An illuminated decree of 1414 resolved a dispute over the administration of the university.

Czech coronation jewels dating back 600 years reflect past grandeur. The Royal Crown of 1346, encrusted with gem-stones, is one of the most valuable items among the priceless collection on show,demonstrating to the public the development of Czech statehood, culture and learning. The exhibition was mounted by Czechoslovakian government agencies. In the appropriate setting of the ancient Prague Castle it illustrates the historical threads that have brought the Czechoslovakian peoples together from their earliest beginnings.