The fountains in the square in Plzeň are awaiting repair of the gilding damaged by vandals

Plzeň - Until the end of July, three monumental fountains in Plzeň's central square will be out of operation. Four years after their commissioning, the city will have the gilding repaired that was damaged by vandals. Ilona Pelíšková from the city organization Administration of Public Assets of the City of Plzeň told ČTK. The modern gilded fountains Angel, Chrtice, and Velbloud, inspired by motifs from the historical city coat of arms, have elicited mixed emotions since the proposal by architect Ondřej Císler was presented. Some people still reject them, while others like them. President Miloš Zeman also criticized them during his visit in May.
    The fountains stopped spewing water on Tuesday. Now they must dry thoroughly, and by Friday at the latest, they will be surrounded by mobile barriers to begin the correction and restoration of the gilding. "The goldsmith must clean the most damaged and scratched areas, coat the bronze base with a special coating, and only then re-gild it," said Pelíšková. The gilded colossi became targets for vandals immediately after their installation in 2010. Now, in some places, the gold is scratched down to the bronze base. The restoration will concern approximately six square meters of the 70 square meters of gilded surface across all three fountains. The entire repair is expected to cost around 120,000 crowns. In addition to the gilding repair, the downtime will also be used to repair the pump at the Velbloud fountain.
    Since the fountains were put into operation in July 2010, this is the first such repair. The gilding of the metal profiles took nine months during their production, including a technological break. Seven shades of gold leaf were used in the process. A total of 720 grams of gold was consumed for the gilding of all three spouts at that time.
    The fountains returned to the square after 125 years, occupying the free corners of the square, with the plague column in the fourth corner. The purchase of the spouts, the tallest of which reaches up to four meters, cost the magistrate nearly 27 million crowns. Císler's design was selected by a professional jury in an architectural competition back in 2005 among 30 proposals. However, politicians initially rejected the fountains and only approved their construction after modifications in size, shape, and surface in 2007. Besides heraldic figures, the spouts also resemble the tradition of monumental castings from Škodovy závody in their shape. They are complemented by monolithic vessels made of black granite from China.