Sušice will announce a competition for the use of the Renaissance house in the square

Sušice - The eleven-thousand-strong town of Sušice will announce an architectural competition by the end of the year for a design for the reconstruction and utilization of a very valuable Renaissance house in the square, known as the Old Pharmacy. The budget for the competition will be one million crowns. It is expected to be evaluated by mid-next year, and then the project will begin to be developed. The reconstruction will likely start in 2019, said Deputy Mayor Věra Marešová (independent candidates association Sušičtí).

Sušice intends to relocate the information center from the inadequate premises of the town hall to one of the oldest buildings in the city. "Additionally, there should be a museum with a modern interactive exhibition or an interestingly presented showcase of the town. The house is beautiful and deserves it," said Mayor Petr Mottl (ODS). There should also be a café.

"We had studies done for a technical assessment of the building and cost estimates for the repair of the entire house. However, the council ultimately decided to hold an architectural competition," Marešová stated. If everything goes well, the evaluation should be completed within six months, and only then can the competition for the project developer be announced. According to Marešová, due to supplier competitions, it will be difficult to start in 2018. The city also has completed an archaeological survey of the interiors.

Estimated costs are around 50 million crowns. The city will apply for grants, but if they are not obtained, it is prepared to repair the house in stages from its own resources. The first step will be to reconstruct the roof, as it does not want to allow leaks.

The house, which was flooded twice during floods, belonged in recent years to an Italian company that wanted to convert it into a hotel but ran into problems with the heritage office. It was then sold for a long time by a real estate agency. In 2014, the city bought it for nine million crowns. The Rozacínovský house with a Renaissance gable and sgraffito facade was originally Gothic. It belonged to the Rosaci family and the extensive Firbas pharmacy family. Like the nearby Šumava Museum, it has foundations dating from the 14th century; the buildings have long been cultural monuments. "These are the most beautiful and best-preserved houses," said Sušice councilor Zdeňka Řezníčková (ČSSD), director of the Šumava Museum, which belongs to the region and focuses mainly on glassmaking.