Hospital Kuks in Trutnov has inaugurated the season, hundreds of people have arrived

Kuks - The Baroque hospital Kuks in the Trutnov region has opened this year's visitor season this weekend, becoming the first state monument in the Hradec Králové Region to do so. Approximately 450 people visited the hospital exhibition on Saturday and Sunday. The strong turnout was mainly on sunny Saturday, when many people only explored the outdoor areas and the garden of the hospital. "There were as many people on Saturday in the area as in the main season. We are satisfied with the first weekend," said the curator Libor Švec to ČTK. The hospital will fully enter the tourist season on Saturday, March 30, from when it will be open daily except Mondays.

For this season, the managers of Kuks have prepared a number of new features. "Tourists will be able to see over 200 new exhibits this year, such as the religious habit of the Brothers of Mercy, travel sundials, or a bell from the ruined hospital belfry," Švec stated. A new part of the tour circuit is a demonstration of the original bedroom where the hospital inmates used to sleep, a library with furniture from the mid-19th century, and a room before the Baroque pharmacy, which is designed as a preparation area.

The hospital corridor on the first floor is newly adorned with a cycle of 37 large paintings depicting the life of Saint John of God, the founder of the Order of the Brothers of Mercy, who worked at the hospital. "The public will be able to see the paintings during special tours, such as during this year's Night of Churches or the Castle Night," said Švec.

In the Baroque pharmacy, a recently uncovered parquet floor from the early 20th century is now on display. "Beneath this parquet floor, there is an even older oak plank floor from the Baroque period; however, restoration was not possible due to its condition," said depositary manager Milan Horák. Polish-speaking guides will be available for visitors from Poland this year.

The hospital offers four tour circuits. During the weekend, the basic tour circuit and the Špork tomb were open. "The interiors are not yet warm enough. Many visitors said they would come back to see them in the summer," said Švec. The hospital is the most visited state monument in the Hradec Králové Region, with over 96,000 people visiting it last year.

Other monuments in the Hradec Králové Region will open their season in the next two weeks. Next Saturday, the castles of Opočna, Náchod, and Hrádek u Nechanic will open their gates. Ratibořice Castle will open on April 6. Among private monuments, Kost Castle will open on April 3, and Karlova Koruna Castle on April 6.

The Museum of the War of 1866 in the village of Chlum u Hradce Králové also started this year's season on Saturday. Dozens of people attended the festive opening associated with a parade of uniformed units of Prussian and Austrian soldiers.