At the regional seat in Liberec, there will be a riverbank next year

Liberec - From next year, residents of Liberec will have the opportunity to dip their feet in the Lužická Nisa, which is currently confined by high banks. Builders will complete the riverbank at the seat of the Liberec Region, which is the next phase of a billion-koruna project to cultivate the lower center of the regional city. The riverbank will provide people access to the river and allow them to sit on wide steps by the water. The project also includes a new direct entrance to the regional office, including a bridge that architect Zdeněk Plesník had envisioned back in the 1960s, said regional governor Martin Půta (Starostové pro Liberecký kraj) to ČTK.

The project to revive the lower center began in 2014, when the Liberec Region purchased buildings and land adjacent to its headquarters from VÚTS (formerly the Research Institute of Textile Machines). They paid 125 million crowns for the area of more than 11,000 square meters. Renovation costing hundreds of millions has already been completed on the former administration buildings, where the European House is now located, and workshops, where besides other things, the business incubator Lipo.Ink operates today. This year, a parking garage for 244 cars was added, and with the riverbank for 142 million crowns, refreshments, public toilets, a water feature, and a playground will also be added near the regional office.

Residents of Liberec are facing a challenging year; work on the busy I/35 thoroughfare will complicate traffic in the city. The Directorate of Roads and Highways plans to start a long-awaited reconstruction of the tunnel in February, which it wants to combine with the renovation of bridges above Košická and Švermová streets. The I/35 thoroughfare through the regional city is the most congested road in the Liberec Region, with over 54,000 vehicles passing through it daily, according to the last count. Traffic will be diverted to half of the roadway due to construction, leading to the formation of traffic jams.

In Jablonec nad Nisou, the city hall plans to initiate the largest project in the modern history of the town next year - the construction of a transport terminal on Kamenná Street, which should connect city and regional bus transport with rail and, in the future, tram transport. The city has been preparing the construction for four electoral terms. Initially, costs were estimated at 160 million crowns, but they have gradually risen to about three times that, to 450 million crowns, with one hundred million expected from European funds.

After decades, passengers departing from the Liberec bus station will finally receive dignified facilities early next year. In January, they should begin using amenities on the ground floor of the nearby Uran building. Unsightly cabins, which have served passengers and staff since the mid-90s, will be removed from the bus station in the first quarter. The facilities in the Uran building will serve passengers until the planned modern transport terminal at the Liberec railway station is completed.

A number of cultural events are also planned - in Frýdlant in the Liberec region, the 15th Valdštejnské celebrations featuring historical battles will take place in May. In Liberec, May will traditionally belong to the 24th annual international animated film festival Anifilm. At the end of July, the 31st musicale festival Benátská! will be held at the Vesec sports complex in Liberec, featuring artists such as Ewa Farna, among others. The star of the autumn festival Lípa Musica will be Canadian tenor Jeremy Dutcher, a composer and two-time winner of the prestigious Polaris Music Prize, who will perform in the Czech Republic for the first time.