Revitalization of the Lipnice nad Sázavou Castle

The planned overall renovation of Lipnice Castle, which began in the 1980s with an extensive reconstruction of the Thurnov Palace and the Samson Tower, was halted after several years due to being unfinished. Inappropriate construction interventions and the insensitive use of concrete technology severely marred the authenticity of this significant Gothic castle. A substantial part of the castle remained unfinished for thirty years—like an abandoned, repulsive construction site. Our task was to rectify this untenable situation with minimal resources. The interventions from the 1980s were not reversible, and completing the reconstruction according to the original design would have further damaged the monument. We opted for a corrective type of modification, combining a conservation approach (authentic masonry, frames, and remnants of plaster), restoration (fragments of murals), and reconstructions (for example, restoring brick vaults in place of the frozen ceiling made of hurdisks). At the same time, we deliberately included the structures from the time of the unfinished renovation (especially the massive reinforced concrete ceilings), which could not realistically be removed. We did not want to hide them in the usual way of covering them up—such as by adding suspended wooden ceilings. The extensive structural restoration intervention, complemented by structural and color retouches of new materials and raw concrete, contributed to creating a visually cohesive image, with concrete becoming an integral part of the historical spaces and their dignity. From a preservation perspective, this is a novelty—the principle of "corrective modifications" serves as inspiration for restoring dignity to other monuments that have similarly been insensitively modified in the recent past, especially since this solution is the most economically efficient. The modifications of Lipnice Castle represent one of the first implementations of this type. The project contributed to an increase in the castle's visitor numbers.