The Heritage Institute appreciated the restoration of Grébovka and the hop dryer

Hops drying house in Odrlice near Olomouc

Prague - The renovation of Havlíčkovy sady in Prague 2 and the discovery of a medieval ceiling in the Convent of the Poor Clares in Český Krumlov have today received the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) Patrimonium pro futuro (Heritage for the Future) Award. The award, which has annually highlighted examples of good practice in heritage care since last year, has four categories, and in two additional categories, the jury honored the work of the Neighbourhood Association Merboltice in the Děčín region and the rescue of the hops drying house in Odrlice near Olomouc. This was announced to journalists today by NPÚ director Naďa Goryczková.
   "With this award, we want to evaluate and highlight what has been achieved in the field of heritage care and to recognize those who contributed to it," said the director. According to her, it was difficult to select only four winners from 27 regional nominations chosen by the staff of the relevant NPÚ territorial offices. Therefore, she awarded an additional special recognition for exemplary comprehensive care of a cultural monument.
    The award for the rescue, restoration, and commissioning of the steam brewery in Lobč was received by Jana Prouzová Myšková and Pavel Prouza from the RIOFRIO Architects studio, who purchased the dilapidated site in 2007. The originally Renaissance brewery resumed beer production this year after reconstruction.
    In the category of heritage restoration, Prague 2 received the award for the repair of Havlíčkovy sady, commonly known as Grébovka Park, and for the restoration and creation of a copy of the statue of Neptune. The park had not been maintained for a long time and the grotto, or artificial cave, was in critical condition even in 2009. The statue had been absent from the park since the 1970s when it was in storage and later disappeared. Thanks to a public call, it was found, but today the park has a copy of the sandstone statue. The installation of the statue last year is considered by the Prague 2 city hall to be the culmination of the demanding reconstruction of Grébovka, which lasted over 15 years and cost more than 365 million crowns. "We are immensely pleased with the victory in our category and see it as a successful culmination of many years of work on the restoration of Grébovka. It is a recognition of the work of many people both in the Vinohrady City Hall and beyond, who contributed to it," said Václav Vondrášek, deputy mayor of Prague 2, to ČTK today.
    For the discovery of medieval beam ceilings in the ambulatories of the Convent of the Poor Clares in Český Krumlov, the award in the category of discovery of the year was received by restorer Jakub Rafl. The discovery was made by accident. No interventions were planned for the ceiling structures. During demolition and clearance work, a small part of the floor, or ceiling, collapsed under one of the masons. Rescue work followed, during which it was determined that it was an exceptional find. "Each of these restoration works is unique; no one has encountered such a well-preserved ceiling. We had to find a way to approach it," Rafl told ČTK.
    The award in the category of heritage rescue is awarded to those who have taken care of a monument on the verge of extinction, bringing it back to life. The association Aktiv+ received the award for the rescue of the hops drying house in Odrlice, an exceptional technical monument that documents the development of hop processing in Haná. The civic association purchased the site from the original owners in 2009. Since 2011, the site has been undergoing gradual reconstruction. "We have been working on it for three years, and we have invested 1.5 to 2 million crowns in the rescue so far. The recognition is wonderful for us. It is the result of long-term work and recognition for more people involved. The monument was in a deplorable state; it is, after all, a technical unique that would not have survived otherwise," said Petr Manek, a representative of the association, to ČTK today.
    The association in Merboltice received an award for the presentation of heritage values because it is dedicated to popularizing folk architecture and minor sacred monuments in the local heritage zone. The public awarded its prize to the rescue of the orangery with a pottery studio in Lomnice near Tišnov through online voting.