The KRNAP administration postponed the deadline for the museum tender, the delay is one year

Vrchlabí - The Administration of the Krkonošsko-jesenická National Park (KRNAP) has postponed the deadline for submitting bids for the second tender for the renovation of the Krkonoš Museum in Vrchlabí by three weeks. The original deadline for opening the envelopes was September 20, said Radek Drahný, the spokesperson for the national park, to ČTK. The reason for the postponement of the bid submission deadline is the reduction of the budget from 110 million crowns to 83 million crowns.

"Currently, we are working with prices that exist in the market. There has been a change in the budget; this is the price that we expect will be offered. If someone submits an acceptable bid, then the work will begin as soon as possible," Drahný told ČTK.

Compared to the original plans, the start of the museum's renovation is about a year delayed. KRNAP wanted to select a contractor for the construction part by the end of last year and to begin construction work this spring. According to the management of the national park administration, European grants of 123 million crowns for the project are not at risk.

The KRNAP is struggling to select a construction company for the renovations of the museum. The second competition was announced this summer because in the previous tender, all company bids significantly exceeded the then-expected price of 65 million. Bids exceeded 100 million crowns.

The museum, located in a former Augustinian monastery and owned by the KRNAP Administration, has been closed since the autumn of 2017. The selected company should ensure the construction part of the project. Total costs, including the establishment of a new exhibition, are estimated at 210 million crowns. In the now-vacated building, a visitor center for KRNAP should be created by the end of 2021 after the transformation of the exhibitions.

The renovated museum with a new interactive exhibition, which should tell the story of nature and people settled in the mountains and build on the successful exhibition Stone and Life, is expected to serve as a representative gateway to the Krkonoš for visitors. The visitor center should provide information about the past and present of the Krkonoš in the most understandable form and motivate people to explore the mountains and protect them. It should also take on the role of a traditional museum. The center will offer opportunities for organizing concerts, festivals, theater performances, or lectures in the open air. Plans include the construction of a new entrance to the building, the establishment of a research room, and a café.