A museum of the greatest Czech woman-writer Božena Němcová (1820–1862) was founded in 1931 as the 1st literary museum in Bohemia. The collections of the museum were housed in the old town hall, in 1962 they were transferred into a reconstructed building of a former Steidler´s which was built in 1824.

She was born as Barbora Pankel in Vienna, the daughter of Johann Pankel from Lower Austria and Teresie Novotná, a maid of Bohemian origin. In her childhood she lived in the village of Ratibořice (near Česká Skalice), where her grandmother Magdalena Novotná played an important part in her life.

The Twelve Months, Slovak fairy tale from Božena Němcová

Old Bodrík and the Wolf, Slovak fairy tale from Božena Němcová

Once upon time, there was a king who had three daughters. The king protected his daughters like the eyes in his head. When his limbs weakened and his head became white, he often thought about which of his three daughters should become the queen after his death.