Ready to get kinky while keeping your clothes on? At the Sex Machines Museum in Prague, you’ll enjoy how people got it on in decades and centuries past.
As you might guess, this post is NSFW – while you may know the country as the Czech Republic, it officially changed its name to Czechia in April 2016. The more you know…
Also known as the Prague Sex Museum, this is the first museum in the world devoted to sexual gadgetry. Exhibits date as far back as the 16th century, and after the museum was established in 2002, city officials found it ‘disagreeable’. This naturally caused people to seek it out even more.
We’re NSFW from here on – last warning.
There are three floors of contraptions, machines, and objects here – but this is one of the few items that mystified me. According to the sign, a man would stand on the wooden ‘feet’ while a prostitute at a late 19th-century brothel would lay back. Padding underneath the chair allowed a second woman to come from underneath and try some different positions.
To put it mildly, people have had some screwed up views of sex in the past. Women’s nightgowns like this allowed a (presumably married) couple to have sex without risking the ‘sin’ or allowing their bodies to touch.
You probably didn’t come here to watch a porno – but at almost a century old, there are two Spanish films from 1925 that are worth a few minutes. Created on the order of King Alphons XIII (the grandfather of the current king), one of the films features the earliest-known threesome preserved on film. Go on, live a little!
Different types of piercings, anyone? Not much info here, but many of the larger exhibits have brief explanations in several languages.
Based on a medieval drawing, this seesaw-like contraption would go up and down as the people moved.
Oh myyy… let’s just say riding a horse got a lot more interesting.
An old-school anti-masturbation belt – guess it could also be used as a chastity belt.
Go on, have a guess at this one. Answer’s at the bottom.
Just a few of the smaller dildos around – some seriously mammoth versions of the rubber variety are nearby.
A more modern sort of chastity belt – and yes, these are still made for today’s kinky types.
Unfortunately you can’t try the machines out (though that would be a swingin’ party!), and you don’t always need a sign to help you figure them out. Seen on the wall are patent drawings for other sex toys, equipment, and stuff – some are a little abstract, so feel free to take a closer look and get a sense how these things may have worked.
Overall, it’s a great look at stuff you’ve probably only seen in porn, with a strong emphasis on the ingenuity of past generations and a great focus on sex, whomever it’s between. You’re almost certain to blush at least a few times, so save this one for your partner / spouse and leave the kids at home.
Name: Sex Machines Museum / Prague Sex Museum
Address: Melantrichova 18, 110 00 Praha 1 (GPS: 50.085853, 14.420618)
Directions: From Mustek station on metro line B, this is about a 7-10 minute, 500 meter walk. Head north on Jungmannova (with the station at your back, this should be a right). The street name may change a couple of times, but stay on the main road until it becomes Michalska. It’ll curve around to the right and end in a T. Turn right and look for the Sex Machines Museum on the right.
Hours: 10:00am-11:00pm everyday.
Admission: 18 years and older only – 250 Czech krona
Phone: +420 227 186 260
Website: http://www.sexmachinemuseum.com
Answer: a manual, crank-driven vibrator.
