The great expansion of museum founding was significantly influenced by the Czechoslavic Ethnographic Exhibition in 1895, which was preceded by extensive material collection and their display in various regions. In Horažďovice, the Regional Economic, Industrial, and Ethnographic Exhibition was opened on September 8, 1894, taking place on the manor island and in the town’s buildings.
A wide range of materials from the entire Horažďovice area was exhibited, showcasing the region’s rich folk culture and recalling the history of the town, the former center of the Prácheň Region. The collection of materials was initiated by the district ethnographic committee, established in 1893, which called on citizens to assist in gathering ethnographic materials. Most of the items consisted of folk costumes, furniture, tools, and instruments, but also included old prints, maps, photographs, and evidence of oral folk traditions such as songs, sayings, customs, and legends.
Leading the volunteers who collected the materials was teacher Štěpán Karel Vydra, later the museum’s first curator and founder. After the end of the Regional Exhibition, 275 items were loaned to Prague, and after their return, they, together with other collected items, became the foundation of the museum’s collections.
The decision to establish the museum was made at a meeting of the town council on December 20, 1895. The museum was allocated two rooms in the newly built municipal school