The Institute of Classical Archaeology at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, keeps one of the largest and best cast collections of ancient art in Central Europe. Its oldest items come from the end of the 18th century from the collection of the count Nostitz and other aristocratic families. The majority of the acquisitions came to Prague after the foundation of the Chair for Classical Archaeology in 1872 – the second oldest within the Habsburg monarchy after the Institut für Klassische Archäologie at the University in Vienna.
Unfortunately, the Collection was moved from Prague to East Bohemia in the 1950s, at the beginning of the Communist era, and it was badly damaged due to ill conditions during several transports and improper storage in the countryside.
Today, a substantial part of the Collection is open to the public at the Gallery of Ancient Art in Hostinné, East Bohemia, and in the exposition “Enchanted by Antiquity” at the Chateau Dux, North Bohemia.