Are you planning a summer holiday trip or stay in South Bohemia? Are you fans of detective stories? Are you going to boat down the Vltava river? Are you keen on competing? If at least one of your answers is Yes, make sure to visit the Postal Museum in Vyšší Brod and take part in our traditional Summer Postal Detective Game - a competition enjoyed by both children and their parents. This year you can again become a real postal detective.

"Since the time when the Post started issuing stamps identified with a letter and featuring the comics characters Fifinka the Missy Dog, Myšpulín the Cat, Pinďa the Rabbit and Bobík the Pig, things have begun to happen! While the stamps with the President have taken a back seat, the Čtyřlístek comics friends have made a real blockbuster, with millions of copies sold over less than a year. And would you believe it, an incredible thing happened for the first time. Three hundred and thirty-three characters simply disappeared from the stamps! In spite of all the laws, postal regulations and strict directives. Naughty little things! But the question is, why did all the characters decided to re-appear directly at the Postal Museum in Vyšší Brod? Haven't they already gone down in the history of the Post? Now, we have already managed to catch most of them nice and neat and return them back to the stamps. But eight of them are still at large. How lucky we are to have befriended former Postmaster in Vyšší Brod, Mr. Mňáca, today's well-respected ghost at the Postal Museum. He photographed all the naughty little imps during their nighttime romping, so the only thing to do is to find out the right exhibits used by them as their daytime hiding places. Please, can you help us?" the Postal Museum in Vyšší Brod calls for help.

How to do it?

Upon entry to the Postal Museum, each visitor will be given a postal detective ID card with questions to be answered according to instructions, concerning the whereabouts of the popular characters. Successful detectives will be granted a certificate with a postal detective cancellation and a postal lollipop. Make your life sweet.

This year's fourth annual summer detective game has already grown in popularity, attracting a hardcore fan base. "There are even visitors who make a special trip to join the competition; as soon as they arrive they inform the box office clerk: This is the third time I have come, and I wonder what you have prepared for us this year!" said Luboš Kocman, manager of the Postal Museum in Vyšší Brod. "Last summer holiday visitors rate was 6,073. Just for your information - 192 of them were employees of the Post. But we do not keep a record of how many people really took part in the competition. Some competitors are able to wander up and down the museum up to four times, just to make sure they have all the answers. It's a matter of prestige - they simply must do it. And parents want to show their children how good they are," added Mr. Kocman.

A wide-ranging collection of exhibits on display at the Postal Museum

But the popular summer game is not the only highlight of the Postal Museum. Visitors can enjoy a large exposition of postal history in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, starting from 1526 until now, covering an area of almost 2,000 m². The objects on display include a unique collection of 19th-century carriages, coaches and sledges, vintage postal uniforms, signs, cash boxes, letter boxes, maps, samples of correspondence, old writing instruments, franking and cancelling machines. Telegraph, teleprinter and telephone machines make up another large exposition. You will find all this and even more in the beautiful premises of the former Cistercian monastery, founded in 1259 by Vok of Rožmberk.

During the summer season (April to October), the Museum is open daily except Monday, between 9 and 12 a.m. and between 1 and 5 p.m.

The Postal Museum's branch is located in Vyšší Brod, a small town in South Bohemia about 200 km far from Prague, close to the Austrian border, some 15 km from Český Krumlov, in the vicinity of Rožmberk Castle. Vyšší Brod is also the starting point for most people going to boat down the Vltava river. The town has a good car, bus and train connection. Buses and trains run more frequently in the summer season. You will find full details about the Postal Museum in Vyšší Brod at www.postovnimuzeum.cz.