Turnov requests a grant for a new library, can potentially obtain about half of the funds

Turnov - Turnov in the Semily region is requesting a grant for a new library, as the current one no longer meets the needs. This was reported by city hall spokesperson Marcela Jandová to ČTK. The city estimates the cost of building a new facility, including VAT, at 136.6 million crowns, and it can currently obtain about half of that from European funds. If everything goes well, the city leadership is prepared to announce a competition for suppliers next year.

The Antonín Marek Municipal Library in Turnov is one of the oldest in the country, having celebrated its 200th anniversary two years ago. Discussions about relocating it from Jeronýmova Street have been ongoing in the fifteen-thousand-strong town for years. The current building does not have sufficient capacity for the library's needs, lacks better sanitary and visitor facilities, and does not have a social hall; moreover, it is not barrier-free. The city has announced an architectural competition for the design of the new library, and the winning proposal from the A69 - architects studio is inspired by the rock city in the Czech Paradise.

The new four-story library with a terrace will be closer to the center near Skálova Street. "It is basically a narrowed plot between the summer cinema and the house Na Sboře," said Mayor Tomáš Hocke (Independent Block). The library will become part of the space where there has been a summer cinema for half a century, which is one of the most visited in the Czech Republic. The library building will take on the function of a projection screen. The construction will be preceded by the demolition of the current buildings, disassembly of the projection screen structure, and part of the ground building where the stage of the summer cinema is currently located.

The central space of the library is designed by the authors as an analogy to a rock gorge. Inside, visitors should discover views and breaks typical for the natural environment of the rock city, and from the roof, a view of the town will open up. "I am really looking forward to that building, I hope it works out and we will have it built here," said Hocke. A complication may be the construction costs. At the beginning of 2020, the project authors estimated that the construction could fit within 50 million crowns, but the steep rise in the prices of building materials and labor has already raised the library's price to more than double that.