Reconstruction of the facade of the western part of the town hall in Jablonec nad Nisou

Jablonec nad Nisou - Tourists in Jablonec nad Nisou will miss the view from the town hall tower this year, as it will remain closed all summer. The reason is the reconstruction of the façade of the western part of the town hall building and the tower. The renovation will cost approximately ten million crowns. Work began there in April. The tower has been open to tourists during the summer for the last 19 years. Interest has been relatively high; last year, over 800 tourists climbed the 51-meter-high tower, said Radana Schaeferová from the Jablonec Cultural and Information Center today according to ČTK.

The new Jablonec town hall was built between 1931 and 1933 according to the design of architect Karel Winter. From the beginning, it served not only as an administrative building but also as a cultural center with restaurants and a cinema. The city hall prepared a project for a complete reconstruction of the functionalist building for more than half a billion crowns as early as 2007, but was unable to secure a subsidy. Therefore, the heritage-protected building is being gradually improved. Last year, a part of the windows in the third and fourth floors was replaced.

This year, the western part of the building will receive not only a new façade but also all the metal elements will be repaired or replaced. The windows in the tower will also be refurbished. A total of 48 windows will undergo renewal, 15 of which will be replaced with replicas. "In the western wing, workers will replace 14 atypical, so-called American, windows that cannot even be opened due to their derelict condition," said the town hall spokesman Markéta Hozová. The windows on the Jablonec town hall have been gradually repaired for several years now, with 307 out of 511 windows successfully refurbished so far.

The external appearance of the town hall should return as closely as possible to the form it had after its completion with the new façade. The work will last until autumn. The clock on the tower has also stopped due to the repair of the dial. For several more months, it will show half past five. "On one hand, work will be done on the dial, and on the other hand, this will prevent potential damage to the clock," explained the reasons Petr Mikulášek from the city's investment construction department, which is responsible for the building.