The expansion of the museum in Jablonec is set to begin construction probably next year

Jablonec nad Nisou - An extension in the shape of a glass crystal is very likely to begin construction next year at the main building of the museum in Jablonec nad Nisou. The estimated cost will be around 60 million crowns. Milada Valečková, the director of the museum, said this to ČTK today.

According to her, the museum has already submitted a request for funding to its founder, the Ministry of Culture. "We have a preliminary promise, so if nothing unexpected happens, we would like to start the construction process in the summer of next year," said the director. She anticipates that the public competition will be announced next January or February. "If nothing goes wrong, we could ideally open the extension by Christmas 2018," she added.

The museum needs the extension due to a lack of space. It primarily wants to place a permanent exhibition of Christmas ornaments there. The museum owns probably the largest public collection in the world, consisting of over 15,000 items. The collection is currently hidden in storage, and the museum gradually presents it during Christmas exhibitions. The collection is remarkable not only for its quantity but also for the variety of patterns and their variations, colors and shades, as well as the traditional and modern decorative techniques and complementary components used.

The exhibition of Christmas ornaments will occupy the middle floor of the three-story extension. The ground floor will contain storage, garages, and air conditioning, while the second floor will have a multifunctional space. "It will connect to the existing vestibule. We would use it for short-term exhibitions and occasional events, such as creative workshops. The current spaces are no longer sufficient for us," said Valečková.

The design of the extension came from an architectural competition to complement the main building appropriately. The main building is an exceptionally valuable monument of Art Nouveau architecture and is also located in a heritage zone. Out of six different solutions, the proposal from the Prague company Hlaváček-architekti won unanimously among the professional committee and the museum's management. The shape of the extension resembles a cut glass stone.

The Jablonec Museum is currently finishing the reconstruction of the Glassmaking Memorial House in Kristiánov in the Jizera Mountains, where it has one of its exhibitions. The renovation, costing approximately 12 million crowns, began in the spring. "Construction-wise, it is finished. We will create a new exhibition next spring and aim to open it on May 20 during the museum night," the director added. The 18th-century cottage, also known as Liščí bouda, is the only preserved building from the former glassmaking settlement. The museum is also funding its restoration from a grant from the Ministry of Culture.