The repair of the headquarters of the Museum of Memory of the 20th Century in Hradčany will cost 71.69 million CZK

Prague – The reconstruction of the House of Pages in Prague's Hradčany, which houses the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century, will cost approximately 71.69 million crowns. The construction work for the city will be carried out by the company Subterra. The selection of the winner of the public contract was approved today by the councilors of the capital city. Five candidates applied for the tender, from which the municipal commission selected the winner. The Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century was established by Prague as a so-called registered institution in 2019. The institution's mission is to commemorate the crimes of totalitarian regimes in the Czech lands.

The one-story House of Pages on Kanovnická Street originally dates back to the 16th century and was baroque renovated at the end of the 17th century. The building will undergo roof repairs and floor remediation; the reconstruction also includes a new elevator, heating system, and air conditioning. The monumentally protected building will feature exhibition spaces, a lecture hall, a library, and a room for recording testimonies of witnesses.

The city will invest money into the reconstruction gradually this year and the following year. This year, it will spend approximately 16.2 million, and the remaining amount, namely 55.5 million crowns, will be utilized next year.

The House of Pages on Kanovnická Street has been unused for years. During the reign of Rudolf II, it served as accommodation for the pages of the lords of Martinic. Later, it was used for social purposes, and during the First Republic, it housed a kindergarten. Since the 1970s, the building has been home to the Office of the Chief Architect of the City of Prague. It was empty since 2008, and the leadership of Prague has been searching for its use.

The establishment of the Museum of the Memory of the 20th Century was approved by Prague city councilors in September 2019. It formally came into existence on November 17, 2019, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution. The museum has already acquired a number of exhibits for its collection, including a bronze statue of the Soviet Marshal Ivan Stepanovich Koniev, which Prague 6 had removed from Interbrigade Square. It currently does not have a permanent exhibition and is awaiting the reconstruction of the House of Pages. It is intended to be a temporary location, and in the future, according to previous statements from metropolitan leaders, the institution could move to the Strahov Stadium, for example.