Hradec announced the fourth tender for the repair of kiosks on the bridge by J. Kotěra

Hradec Králové - The city of Hradec Králové recently announced its fourth competition for a construction company to repair the historic kiosks on the edges of the protected Prague Bridge over the Elbe. Of the previous three tenders, two were not completed; the company selected in the last third competition went bankrupt, and the city is requesting 575,000 crowns in insolvency proceedings. If the city manages to select a company in the current tender, the kiosks could be repaired by this autumn. This was stated today by the spokesperson of the magistrate Magdaléna Vlčková.

The Prague Bridge, built in 1910, is one of the city's iconic structures. At its approaches, it features four circular structures known as kiosks, designed by the famous architect Jan Kotěra, just like the bridge itself. The kiosks, which serve food and ice cream, are also protected as historical monuments. The company resulting from the selection process is expected to repair two kiosks located on the right side of the bridge in the direction from the old town to Svobody Square. The estimated price of the work is 1.96 million crowns excluding VAT, and the city intends to cover part of the cost from a grant from the Ministry of Culture's Urban Heritage Conservation program.

The builders should primarily restore the plasterwork, stonemasonry elements, windows, and doors. "The restoration of the kiosks will be based on the original documentation of the modification of both approaches signed by architect Jan Kotěra in May 1910," stated Jan Falta, head of the magistrate's heritage protection department, previously.

Of the remaining two kiosks, the larger one near Svobody Square has already been repaired. The repair was organized last year by the city-funded organization Správa nemovitostí, which selected the Štěpánek company from Opočno for the work. The price of the work was 1.55 million crowns excluding VAT. The last fourth kiosk is also expected to be repaired this year by Správa nemovitostí. The city is carrying out repairs through Správa nemovitostí without any grants.

The city has been trying to repair the kiosks at the ends of the single-arch iron bridge since 2015. The bridge itself was repaired by the city hall between 1992 and 1993.

The first tender for the two kiosks had to be canceled two years ago due to a lack of interest from companies. The second competition was canceled due to the sole applicant's failure to meet the conditions. The winner of the third competition, the Prague company Toget, only chipped off part of the plaster from the kiosks last year and did not continue the work.

In August last year, the Toget company entered insolvency proceedings, and in February this year, the court declared it bankrupt. Hradec Králové is claiming a penalty for the undelivered work from the company in the amount of 550,000 crowns, as well as 24,600 crowns for lost rental income, damaged doors, and cleanup of debris treated as illegal dumping. According to data from the insolvency file, the Toget company has 57 creditors claiming a total of 42 million crowns. The company's assets amount to one million crowns in a bank account.