Slavonice, Czechia

Muzeum Samorostů (Museum of Driftwood)

600 stumps, branches, and trunks of different shapes and sizes.

The collectors of the world have devised museums dedicated to trolls, ice machines, and even David Hasselhoff. But perhaps the most bizarre and random of them all is a museum in Czechia devoted entirely to driftwood— forest driftwood, that is.

Created by Czech forester Karel Tůma, the Museum of Driftwood displays 600 stumps, branches, and trunks of many different shapes and sizes. Both indoors and outdoors, the wooden formations resemble birds, wheels, chairs, and benches, together creating a miniature, leafless forest in the museum.

Although the closest approximation for the museum’s name is “Museum of Driftwood,” there is no direct translation. The museum’s Czech name, Muzeum Samorostů, refers to a type of driftwood that is left scattered in a forest as opposed to on a beach, a terrestrial driftwood of sorts. (Given that Czechia is a landlocked country, this is no big surprise.)

A common feature at the Museum of Driftwood are sets of two trunks hinged together at the top, imitating the lower bodies of men. Branches sticking out from the crotch area are a quite eye-catching touch.