Czech architect received an award for the restoration of a castle in Latvia

Prague/Riga - The award for the best restoration of a monument was given in Latvia for the restoration of the towers of the Gothic castle Bauska, which was worked on by Czech architect Miloslav Hanzl. This is the third phase of the restoration of the monument, which holds significance for Latvia comparable to that of the Karlštejn Castle for the Czech Republic. Jan Štoll, spokesperson for the Czech National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), of which Hanzl is a member, informed the Czech Press Agency today about the recognition. Hanzl has previously been honored for the years-long restoration of Bauska Castle.

The completed restoration of the towers won first place in the restoration category at the Latvian Building of the Year 2020 competition. The third phase of the restoration focused on the conservation and restoration of the large and small towers of the 15th-century castle. The castle was damaged at the end of the 17th century during the Swedish wars and was further devastated during the Great Northern War with Russia in 1705. The subsequent era of the Soviet Union left its mark with insensitive repairs and extensions. In the last quarter-century, with the help of Czech experts, its former glory and dignity have been returning. The assistance provided by the Czechs for the restoration of the castle in the 1990s was facilitated by then-President Václav Havel.

The restoration work included the construction of wooden balconies, staircases, and new roofs over the Great Tower and the conservation of the small tower. New carpentry elements, loosely imitating the already vanished structures, were placed in the original locations of the building. The carpenters prepared the material by hand and worked using traditional technological methods that had been employed in the region for centuries. The most challenging part was the restoration of the medieval masonry and especially the remains of the preserved Gothic plaster.

Miloslav Hanzl and Václav Girsa, along with restorer Miloš Gavenda, received the Latvia Cultural Heritage Award from the Latvian National Inspectorate for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Riga in 2003, as well as the EU Europa Nostra Award 2004 for the conservation of the ruins of Bauska Castle. The restoration of the Renaissance Bauska Castle itself won first place in the restoration category in the Latvian Building of the Year 2016 competition. At that time, the restoration of the castle, again according to the Czech project, was carried out mainly by Czech experts who renovated the Renaissance historical plasters and façades with sgraffito, repaired interiors, produced replicas of windows and doors with decorative hardware, and restored the roof.