The grand neo-Renaissance pile dominating the top of Wenceslas Square was designed by Josef Schulz and opened in 1891 as a monument to Czech national identity as much as a museum. A major renovation completed in 2018 restored the building to its full glory — the ornate entrance hall and grand staircase alone justify the visit. The collections span natural history, ethnography, and Czech historical artifacts, though the building itself tends to upstage the exhibits. Bullet holes from 1968, when Soviet troops fired on the facade mistaking it for the parliament, have been carefully preserved. The new connecting corridor to the adjacent former Federal Assembly building effectively doubles the exhibition space.