The story of how this complete skeleton of the Fin Whale, a giant of the world’s oceans, found its way to Prague could easily inspire a film. All had started in Norway. It was November 1885 when the stormy sea washed up a female whale on the rocky shore of Lyngøy Island, a south-western coast close to Bergen. It was a splendid coincidence and the local fishermen literally converted the entire whale into money. One of the whaling companies offered the completely disassembled skeleton to various European museums. They set the price at 2500 gold coins and waited to see what would happen.
In 1886 Antonín Frič, a professor, and at that time the Head of the Zoological and Paleontological Collection of the National Museum, found out about the bid and got the idea to acquire it as a spectacular exhibit to the new building of the museum on Wenceslas Square, the development of which caught the attention of the whole nation. It’s rather high price was a problem. An aiding hand was offered to Frič by his brother Dr. Václav Frič the owner of a shop with natural elements and a member of Joure Fixe a national parlour company. The company, a member of which, beside others, was Vojtěch Náprstek, heard of the novelty of the whale in the U Gebaurů pub and decided to carry out a collection among Prague’s famous. The needed amount was gathered relatively quickly and the skeleton could start to be prepared for its journey to Prague.
It was not immediately in the museum
The goods, weighing four tonnes, were gradually shipped to Prague in several crates. The building of the National Museum had not been finished yet. In order to allow Prague’s citizen to be able to admire the exhibit (which they did), the skeleton was exhibited in Náprstkovo Industrial Museum in 1988. The installation took three months and the successful exhibition was extended for another year. It was completed with lectures by professor Bauše and three large pictures accompanying his lectures. In the meantime the construction work on the building of the National Museum continued until it was finally completed in 1892.
At last the skeleton was able to be located in the premises assigned for it from the start; in exhibition hall number 10 on the second floor of the new museum. It is not an easy task to disassemble and reassemble a twenty meter long skeleton therefore professor Frič entrusted the job to the company of his brother and at the same time asked F. Perner a manufacturer, to acquire the skeleton of a prematurely born baby whale for 245 golden coins. The exhibit was put together according to it. At first the skeleton was positioned on a massive supporting steel structure, later in years 1965 to 68 it was suspended by means of ten steel load bearers attached to the transverse beam and to the ceiling of the hall and you may see it in this position to this day.
One of the biggest problems at the first installation of the skeleton was its degreasing. As there were no appropriate containers for some large sections these were treated by vapour in the Ringhoffer factory and during that time an unidentifiable bad smell emanated through Smíchov… According to old-timers, greasy spots caused by the dripping fat were to be seen below the long bones of the bottom jawbone even after half a century … During its last reconstruction in the nineteen sixties the whale was again degreased and treated.
Additional intervention will be applied in 2011, when the reconstruction of the main building of the National Museum will commence. The skeleton of the whale, after being carefully documented, will be taken down from its suspension, disassembled into individual segments which will be preventively treated and packed and temporarily stored. After a few years break, the skeleton will be installed in a similar way as it is today.
