Jičín has started renovating the cinema, which is expected to be completed by the summer of 2018

Project Studio David, Ltd.

Jičín - The reconstruction of the 90-year-old building of the Biograf Český ráj started in Jičín these days with the removal of projection equipment and the relocation of seats. The repair will cost 35 million crowns without VAT and will last until the summer of 2018. During the reconstruction, movie screenings will be moved to the cultural center in nearby Valdice, with screenings starting there on April 1. This was announced today by the city spokesperson Magdaléna Doležalová. The cinema repair, which is being done by the company Chládek and Tintěra Pardubice, is the main investment project of the city for the years 2017 and 2018.

The builders are expected to bring the building closer to its original appearance from the 1920s. The appearance of the building was disrupted after World War II by a series of insensitive interventions and extensions - for example, the extension of former dressing rooms, a saddle-roof addition, glazing of the building's front portals, and interior modifications with wooden cladding and metal ceilings.

After the reconstruction, the capacity of the hall is expected to decrease from 310 to 185 seats. "We are now offering the original seats for sale," Doležalová said. The projection booth is to be moved, and the foyer space is to be expanded into the upper floor. The hall is also planned to be usable for concerts, diashows, lectures, or possibly small theater performances. The project also includes the adjustment of surrounding public spaces and the expansion of the parking lot.

Biograf Český ráj is visited by over 30,000 people annually, making it the most visited single-screen cinema in the Hradec Králové Region and the 30th in the Czech Republic. On average, 652 screenings are held in the cinema each year. The last significant change in the cinema was its digitalization in 2011 for 3.4 million crowns. The city hall began preparing for the complete reconstruction in 2013.