{"id":4921,"date":"2019-07-09T12:39:20","date_gmt":"2019-07-09T11:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.freud.org.uk\/?p=4921"},"modified":"2019-07-29T17:29:06","modified_gmt":"2019-07-29T16:29:06","slug":"exploring-freuds-czech-birthplace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.freud.org.uk\/2019\/07\/09\/exploring-freuds-czech-birthplace\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring Freud\u2019s Czech birthplace"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sigmund Freud is often thought to have been Viennese, but he was actually born in what is now the Czech Republic.<\/h2>\n
\"Colour<\/a>

The Sigmund Freud Birthplace Museum in P\u0159\u00edbor, Czech Republic. Photo: The Archive of P\u0159\u00edbor City (Archiv M\u011bsta P\u0159\u00edbora).<\/p><\/div>\n

The founder of psychoanalysis was born at 17 Z\u00e1me\u010dnick\u00e1 Street in Freiberg, Moravia<\/strong><\/a> (now P\u0159\u00edbor, Czech Republic).<\/p>\n

The house belonged to J. Zaj\u00edc, a locksmith who rented the first floor to Freud\u2019s parents, Jakob Freud and his young wife Amalia.<\/p>\n

It was here that Freud was born in 1856 and spent his early years.<\/p>\n

The house is now a museum<\/a> <\/strong>dedicated to the founder of psychoanalysis, attracting visitors from around the world.<\/p>\n

The Freuds lived there for just three years, but it left an indelible impression.<\/h2>\n

Sigmund Freud retained strong memories of his early years and described them several times in his works. He recalled playing with other children in the nearby fields, and looked back on the region as an idyllic, pastoral setting.<\/p>\n

“Deeply buried within me there still lives the happy child of Freiberg, the first-born son of a youthful mother, who received his first indelible impressions from this air, from this soil.”Sigmund Freud<\/span><\/blockquote>\n

He was nostalgic about the town, but his experiences there weren\u2019t all happy.<\/p>\n

This was also where his brother Julius was born in 1857, dying tragically the following year.<\/p>\n

It was also in Freiberg that his father\u2019s wool business collapsed, leaving the family almost destitute and forcing them to leave for Vienna.<\/p>\n

The Freud family\u2019s house in P\u0159\u00edbor <\/strong>has been preserved as a museum.<\/h2>\n

Visitors can explore the rooms, one of which Freud was born in (unfortunately no one knows which one!).<\/p>\n

The house and its connection to the Freud family is brought to life with an audio tour conceived as a story narrated by Sigmund Freud himself!<\/p>\n

\"Interior<\/a>

Was this the room in which Sigmund Freud was born? Photo: The Archive of P\u0159\u00edbor City (Archiv M\u011bsta P\u0159\u00edbora).<\/p><\/div>\n

Although none of the objects from Freud\u2019s childhood survived, fragments of various objects found during its renovation in 2006 are now on display.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this is fitting given that fragments are all that remain of anyone\u2019s memory of earliest childhood.<\/p>\n

A key feature of the museum is a short film by Jarom\u00edr Haso\u0148 about Freud\u2019s life and connections to his birth town. In Freudian spirit, the film blends stylistic documentary with elements of fictional narrative.<\/p>\n

Other features on display include:<\/p>\n