The Petr Bezruč Memorial is one of the six exhibition buildings and premises of the Silesian Museum. It came into being during the lifetime of the poet Petr Bezruč and stands on the site of his birthplace. The Petr Bezruč Memorial is both a centre for literary studies and an exhibition site whose activities have, for over fifty years, been primarily focused on the study and retrieval of the papers of major literary figures from Silesia and north Moravia.

The Memorial’s depository contains over 200,000 documents from the estates of around 85 literary figures, which puts the Silesian Museum in second place in the Czech Republic behind the Museum of Czech Literature in Prague.

The ground floor of the Petr Bezruč Memorial contains an exhibition on the life of this great Silesian poet. The first floor contains a hall that is used for coltural events organised by the museum, such as temporary exhibitions, lectures and readings.

On the initiative of the Memorial, a literary festival commemorating the poet came into being in 1958, the year of his death. The festival is known as ‘Bezruč’s Opava’ and takes place in September. The event went through a number of changes over the years until it reached its current form of a multi-genre festival, with the original week-long festival being replaced by a whole month of varied cultural events and programmes. Bezruč’s Opava is amongst the oldest cultural festivals in the Czech Republic.

As stated above, the museum building is located on the spot where the birthplace of the poet Petr Bezruč used to stand. The original building was seriously damaged at the end of the Second World War and had to be demolished. In 1946 the Petr Bezruč Society was created in Opava with the aim of gathering artefacts connected to Bezruč and allowing researchers to publish works on the poet. The main goal of the Petr Bezruč Society then became to build a Bezruč museum.

In 1952, the tasks of the above society were assumed by the Silesian Study Institute in Opava, which included a special Petr Bezruč department. Eff orts to build a Bezruč museum culminated in the offi cial opening of the Petr Bezruč Memorial exhibition on newly constructed premises on 5th May 1956. In accordance with Bezruč’s last wishes, the Memorial became heir to the poet’s estate, including the copyright to his works. This estate also included the Petr Bezruč Chalet in the village of Ostravice, which contains an exhibition that attempts to convey the atmosphere of the poet’s lifetime. Following the reorganisation of the Silesian Study Institute in 1958, the Memorial came under the administration of the Silesian Museum in Opava.

In the mid-1960s preparations were begun for a new exhibition, which was opened in September 1967 with the title ‘The Life and Works of Petr Bezruč’. Practically unchanged, this exhibition remains within the Memorial to this day. The exhibition outlines the most important moments in the life and works of Bezruč.