In February, the reconstruction of Zdík's Palace will begin, the museum will close

Olomouc – The long-planned reconstruction of one of the most valuable Romanesque monuments in Central Europe, the Zdik Palace in Olomouc, will begin in February. The reconstruction of the bishop's palace, based on the design by architect Jan Šépka, will last at least until May next year and will cost approximately 50 million crowns. The Archdiocesan Museum of Olomouc, which forms a tourist-attractive complex with the palace at Václavské náměstí, will therefore be closed for more than a year. Museum representatives told journalists today.

The reconstruction of the palace is financed from the budget of ITI Olomouc agglomeration, which means it is funded by European subsidies. In the future, it will also make previously closed areas accessible to visitors. According to the director of the Museum of Art Ondřej Zatloukal, it will significantly affect the visitor infrastructure. "Visitors will be able to walk through all four arms of the cross-shaped corridor for the first time, which is a big step, and it took us a long time to agree on this with the owner," said Zatloukal. A new permanent exhibition will also be created in the attic of the chapter buildings, covering the cultural-historical development of the St. Wenceslas Hill. "We expect it to bring us into the 21st century in terms of audiovisual and multimedia matters," he added.

The preparation of the project, which is overseen by the owner, the Metropolitan Chapter of St. Wenceslas, took more than two years and includes the removal of the non-original and inadequate roofing of the Zdik Palace from the 1980s, the replacement of walkways, railings, and windows, as well as the mentioned accessibility of the entire Gothic cross corridor on the ground floor of the building. The reconstruction also accounts for social facilities; part of the project includes addressing the inadequate depository of the Metropolitan Chapter above the sacristy of the St. Wenceslas Cathedral and the restoration of the tabernacle in the Chapel of St. Stanislaus.

For visitors, the most noticeable change will be the opposite slope of the roofs that cover the rare Romanesque windows, which will also benefit the Chapel of St. Anne, the traditional place of inauguration for Olomouc archbishops. "The slope of the roof will once again open its windows to natural light. Visitors will see this space illuminated for the first time in long decades," Zatloukal added. The new extension will distinguish itself from the original architecture in terms of materials. Experts will only use materials that were not used at that time, namely glass, concrete, and steel. At first glance, it will thus be easily recognizable what is the original structure.

The creation of the Romanesque bishop's palace, formerly known as the Přemyslid Palace, is connected to the construction of the Church of St. Wenceslas, which was founded at the beginning of the 12th century by the Olomouc prince Svatopluk. The construction was completed by Olomouc Bishop Jindřich Zdík, one of the most important figures in Czech history of the 12th century, who is considered to be the son of the chronicler Cosmas. Next to the church, he had a representative palace built, which was adjacent to a smaller cross corridor with a rectangular floor plan and a chapter house designated for the communal life of priests. The palace was then rebuilt several times.