Heritage experts signed a contract for the restoration of the Kuks Hospital

Kuks (Trutnov) - Conservationists signed a contract with the consortium of companies Hochtief CZ and Gema art group for the renovation of the Baroque complex Kuks in Trutnov. The builders of the hospital will carry out the repairs for 266 million crowns excluding VAT. Oldřich Pešek, deputy of the Regional Heritage Office in Sychrov, told ČTK. Construction work is expected to begin in the coming days. Visitors must expect some restrictions, but the local exhibition will remain accessible.
    Eight entities submitted bids for the renovation tender, but conservationists disqualified all of them from the competition for various reasons. The Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS), after an appeal, returned only the consortium Hochtief CZ and Gema art group to the competition. Other applicants, except for the company Skanska, did not succeed with their objections and appeals, or withdrew them. According to Pešek, the ÚOHS has not yet ruled on Skanska's objections.
    Prior to the competition, conservationists estimated that the construction work would cost 280 million crowns excluding VAT. The offer from the Hochtief consortium was the second highest, while the cheapest offer was around 160 million crowns.
    "Construction work is expected to start in the coming days, at the latest in weeks," Pešek said. According to conservationists, construction work will not interfere with the possibility of visiting the hospital, which is visited by approximately 50,000 people annually. "There will be certain restrictions, for example regarding access to the courtyard, but the exhibition will be accessible to the public throughout the repairs. Traditional cultural events will also take place," castle curator Libor Švec said earlier.
    The entire project has fallen into a time crunch due to the lengthy evaluation of the tender. The repairs must be completed by the end of December 2014. If the deadline for the completion of construction is not met, there is a risk of losing the European grant, which is 440 million crowns for the entire project. The project to preserve the monument is titled Kuks - Pomegranate and consists of several sub-buildings, with the renovation of the hospital being the largest among them.
    This year, Kuks became one of the monuments that the organization CzechTourism promotes as tourist gems in a large promotional campaign.

Hospital Kuks - Baroque Pearl of the Podkrkonoší

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• The Baroque complex is located on the banks of the upper reaches of the Elbe River, approximately seven kilometers southeast of Dvůr Králové nad Labem. Its dominant feature is the former hospital building, which served to care for military veterans, and the Church of the Holy Trinity. The hospital has been a national cultural monument since 1995. The initiator of the construction of the complex was the owner of the estate, Count František Antonín Špork (1662 to 1738). He intended to transform the site into his summer palace, which was also to become a spa and social center for the nobility. After the count's death, the spa began a rapid decline, culminating in a devastating flood in 1740. To this day, only part of the historic spa complex has been preserved, dominated by a monumental cascading staircase with Triton sculptures.
• On the opposite bank of the Elbe stands the hospital with the Church of the Holy Trinity. Count Špork decided to establish a support institution for war veterans in 1696. The construction of the church, according to plans by Italian architect Giovanni Battista Alliprandi, began in 1707. Ten years later, the church was consecrated. The church includes a crypt, which houses the tomb of the Špork family. At the same time as the church, buildings were erected on both sides of the temple - namely the hospital and a wing designated for caregivers from the Order of the Brothers of Mercy. The Czech Pharmaceutical Museum is now located in this wing.
• According to Špork's founding document, 100 poor, sick, and elderly men from the surrounding estate were to be supported in Kuks. The residents received free food, clothing, accommodation in shared rooms, and basic medical care. The so-called hospital patients were not allowed to quarrel, boast about who killed more enemies, or even go to pubs. They were also required to attend daily masses, during which they prayed for Count Špork and his family.
• In front of the hospital is a collection of 24 stone sculptures from the workshop of Matyáš Bernard Braun (1684 to 1738). Originally colored allegories of Virtues and Vices were meant to remind visitors to Kuks of the struggle between good and sin. Braun was also the creator of the nearby stone nativity scene, which represents the pinnacle of European Baroque sculpture in the open air.
• Among the movable monuments on the Kuks premises, the unique Baroque pharmacy U Granátového jablka and a large late Baroque table nativity scene are especially noteworthy.
• Since 2010, the Kuks complex has been undergoing reconstruction as part of a project called Kuks - Pomegranate (this fruit was a symbol of the Order of the Brothers of Mercy and is also a traditional Christian symbol of resurrection and rebirth). The aim of the project is to revitalize the underutilized parts of the hospital building and its surroundings. In addition, the historic core of the village of Kuks is to be restored.
• Since this spring, Kuks has been connected by a cycling path to Hradec Králové, approximately 25 kilometers away.