The renovation of the museum in H. Králové will finish in the spring and reopen in the autumn of 2019

Hradec Králové - The reconstruction of the Art Nouveau building of the East Bohemian Museum in Hradec Králové, costing approximately 90 million crowns, is expected to be completed in the spring of 2019. However, it will not open to the public until the autumn of the following year, said museum director Petr Grulich to ČTK. Builders took over the construction site on May 4, and currently, restorers are repairing stained glass and sculptures. After the repairs are finished, work will begin on preparing a new exhibition on the history of the city.

"The reconstruction is proceeding as planned, and the building is to be handed over for use in April. We want to open the building in the autumn, either on October 28 or November 17," Grulich told ČTK.

According to him, the preparation of the exhibition, costing more than 18 million crowns, will take three to four months. It will not be a classic exhibition with display cases; the basic building elements of the exhibition will be architectural features of the city. "Unlike the building work itself, the preparation of the exhibition will be our responsibility. The exhibition is in the project documentation phase, and a selection procedure for its supplier is currently underway," Grulich stated to ČTK.

According to Jana Sedlářová from the investment department of the municipality, the amount for creating the exhibition is not included in the costs of the building reconstruction.

The contractor for the building repairs is a consortium of firms GEMA ART and Chládek a Tintěra. The owner of the building and investor of the repairs is the city, while the East Bohemian Museum is established by the Hradec Králové Region. Up to 90 percent of the total eligible costs is to be covered by European grants.

The builders have already repaired, for example, the areas in front of the museum, replaced windows, and the building has a new facade that matches the original appearance. "The builders are now looking forward to completing the reconstruction of the external fountain in front of the building, repairing part of the roof windows, and working on the interiors, which includes plaster repairs and painting," Grulich stated.

After the repairs, new exhibition spaces will be created inside the building. From the repaired terrace near the dome on the roof of the museum, a view of part of the city center will be possible. There are also plans to relocate the heat transfer station, which was previously in the museum's basement and provided heating to the houses in the adjacent streets. The station will be moved to the basement of the municipal building on Kotěrova Street, where a kindergarten is located.

The closure of the building on the Elbe waterfront affects the operation of the museum itself, limiting exhibition activities. For example, the popular Museum Advent Market will take place from November 30 to December 2 in temporary spaces at the Hradec Králové University building on Svobody Square.

The museum building was designed by architect Jan Kotěra and built between 1909 and 1912. The museum was declared a national cultural monument in 1995.