The village of Prostřední Lhota is situated 5 km southwest from Nový Knín in the direction to the village of Cholín, near the Vltava River. It belongs to the area of the middle part of the Vltava River, its lower part, which ends at the Slapy Dam. The first mention about the village dates back to 1335. Prostřední Lhota and the neighbouring village of Záborná Lhota were founded by Kucman from Hohenstollen, a burgher from Nový Knín. He was a rich mining businessman in the village in the first half of the 14 th century. The village of Prostřední Lhota became a property of the Cross Order with a Red Star in 1669. The Order bought the Starý Knín Domain including the village of Prostřední Lhota from Petr Vratislav from Mitrovice.
The settlement in the surroundings of Nový Knín started much earlier as the opening part of the exposition about archeology shows. The oldest exhibits date back to the late Paleolithic and early Mesolithic (about 11.000 - 6.000 BC). The first colonization of the local landscape started in 3.000 BC by people of the Cham Culture as the findings in the surroundings of the villages of Nalžovické Podhájí and of Čím show. A burial site at the village of Záborná Lhota dates back to the times of the Bronze Age, 12 th - 9 th century BC. The early Iron Age is represented by a burning burial site exposed at the settlement of Starý Knín and dated back to the 5 th century BC. There are a few places which date back to the last Iron Age; one of them, a Celtic oppidum (a settlement, hill-fort) in Hrazany, represents a top of primeval settlement in the area. It is proved by evidence which is displayed in the new archeological exposition. In the course of the 9 th - 10 th centuries new colonization of the landscape started along the Vltava River and culminated in the period between the 13 th and the 15 th centuries. The latest expressive change in the settlement of the area came about in connection with construction of the Vltava cascades during the 20 th century.
The Granary Museum in Prostřední Lhota, a department of the Mining Museum in Příbram is located in a four-storied, monumental Baroque building erected in 1770. The manor used to belong to the Cross Order with a Red Star, today it is listed in National Heritage. The house was built as a rectangle-shaped house with round corners, linear molding and oblong windows. The windows were used for ventilating and were made in the longer walls of the house. The shorter walls were decorated with spiral gables with waved moldings at their edges. The granary ranks among the valuable farm buildings in Baroque style which are situated in the villages in the south part of Middle Bohemia.
The roomy and interesting interior of the granary was adapted for exhibitions and for cultural activities thanks to the authorities of the village of Chotilsko. In 2004, the exposition "The Life of Country-People Living along the Middle Part of the Vltava River" was open to the public. It provides the visitors with pictures of daily lives of farmers, living along the middle part of the Vltava River in the late 19 th and the early 20 th centuries. The exposed farm machines, tools, gears, home-made and skilled handiworks and the interior of a folk dwelling demonstrate agricultural activities on the farms in rural areas in the course of the 19 th century and the main way of living of local people which was not changed in character until the middle of the 20 thcentury. It also adduces evidence for the fact that after 40 years of nationalization of our agriculture plenty of farm machines, small farm tools and household goods have been preserved until present days. Some of the displayed exhibits were donated by local people from the villages of Chotilsko, Prostřední Lhota, Smilovice and from the surroundings of the towns of Nový Knín and Dobříš. The exposition continues the collection of farm machines and tools, having been gathered since 1999, in the Museum of the Rural Housing Extending along the Middle Part of the Vltava River in the town of Vysoký Chlumec, and the exposition of Handicrafts and Industry displayed in the Gold Museum in the town of Nový Knín. They both are departments of the Mining Museum in Příbram.
The large rooms of the granary supply space for some other interesting exhibitions. The exposition showing the activities of the Knights of the Cross Order with a Red Star in Middle Bohemia, especially in the surroundings of the town of Nový Knín, is one of them. A small exposition of trophies, photographs and historical machines remembers of a tradition of motorcycle races of local people. The presentation of photographs of the old Vltava River, of the life in the villages, small colonies and settlements along the river and the installation of the interior of a local pub represent another interesting remark of the local history. Seasonal displays of modern arts support the offer of the permanent expositions of the museum.
In the past precious metals were extracted in the surroundings of Prostřední Lhota, that means in the area where the Baroque granary is located. Especially in the 16 th century it was gold which was extracted at the site of Psí Hora and at some other places along the left bank of the Vltava River. The goldfields are located 2km from the village of Smilovice and led west towards the villages of Čelina, Mokrsko and Prostřední Lhota. A mill for gold ore and a mining smithy were built at the Čelinský Creek. The local mining was ruled by royal authorities having their seat in Nový Knín. Also these facts are parts of rich history of a picturesque country which can be seen in pictures and historical relics displayed in the Granary Museum in the village of Prostřední Lhota.