<div> <h1>Karlštejn Castle Awaits Renewal for 95 Million CZK, New Exhibitions Will Also Be Established</h1> </div>

Karlštejn - Karlštejn Castle in the Beroun region is set to undergo renovation costing 95 million crowns, 85 percent of which will be covered by EU grants. The reconstruction will include the Imperial Palace and the castle's purveyor's office. New exhibitions and a modern visitor center will also be created. The castle will remain open to visitors, but they should prepare for temporary closures of some areas, said Naďa Goryczková, director of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ), at today's ceremonial project launch.

The director of the regional heritage administration of the NPÚ, Dušan Michelfeit, specified that project preparation has begun, and the start of construction work is expected next year. The work should be completed by 2022. According to Goryczková, the monument suffers from hidden defects and high visitor traffic. The goal is to restore the deteriorating ground floor, basement, and cellar spaces of the Imperial Palace, the arcade extension, the rock cellar, and the eastern part of the castle's purveyor's office, where a visitor center will be established. Renovation will also occur in the utility garden on the southern courtyard and the engineering networks.

The wooden buffet stand will be removed from the courtyard, and tickets will not be sold at a window but in attractive late Gothic spaces in the eastern part of the purveyor's office. There will also be a souvenir shop and refreshments. At the same time, access will be made to a terrace on the roof of the new toilets built in the southern courtyard. Visitors will move only in one direction, and queues in the courtyard should be eliminated.

Visitors can look forward to a cinema hall for 20 people and four new exhibitions. Three will be freely accessible in the visitor center - exhibitions on Karlštejn winemaking and sculptural elements, and a virtual model of the castle. In the Imperial Palace, there will be an exhibition of carpentry elements, accessible during events in the multifunctional hall. Michelfeit pointed out some unfortunate modern modifications in connection with the reconstruction, such as replacing the ceiling in the basements of the Imperial Palace with road panels. "That was the way it was back then, and we want to correct these things," he stated.

According to him, people must expect restrictions on the access road to the castle and in the courtyard. Producer Janis Sidovský previously announced that after three years, musical performances of Night at Karlštejn will conclude in the courtyard. Castle deputy steward Lukáš Kunst told ČTK that the castle would try to compensate for this with offerings inside. Evening or night tours will be prepared.

The project at Karlštejn was initiated by the Ministers of Culture and for Regional Development, Ilja Šmíd and Klára Dostálová. The Minister reminded that Karlštejn was visited by 268,000 people two years ago, when it marked the 700th anniversary of the birth of Charles IV. She expects attendance to increase after the renovation. "Let's hope the walls of Karlštejn can bear it," she added. According to Michelfeit, the reconstruction will allow more people to be served, but the main goal is greater comfort. "We are interested in having more visitors, but I don't think this reconstruction will lead to a sudden increase," he stated. Kunst recalled that the largest influx the castle experienced was in 1995, when 350,000 people passed through its gates. "That was still the aftermath of the post-revolutionary period; we had a lot of foreigners and many organized groups here," he added.

The Gothic Karlštejn Castle was founded by Charles IV in 1348. It was built as a place to store royal treasures, primarily collections of holy relics and imperial coronation jewels. It is among the most visited monuments in the Czech Republic.