The repair of the stained glass at the Opava House of Culture Petra Bezruč has begun

Opava - Repair work has begun on the more than 100-year-old stained glass windows in the heritage-protected House of Culture Petra Bezruče in Opava. The building houses, among other things, a library, a ceremonial hall, and a chamber of commerce. Floral motifs made up of 225 glass panels of colored and clear glass will return to their place in a year. This was reported today by the city spokeswoman Lada Dobrovolná.

This concerns the stained glass ceiling in the vestibule of the building, which was added in 1910 according to the design of an anonymous designer by the company of Richard Schleina from Hrádek. "Due to the emergency state of the stained glass and the skylight above the glass ceiling, it was necessary to proceed with urgent repairs," she stated. The stained glass windows were moved from Opava to the workshop of Hana Baronová in Kozmice, where they will be renovated.

"The repair will cost more than 400,000 crowns and will be covered by the financial resources of the library. It is also necessary to repair the skylight above the stained glass, which, however, will take more time, and so at this moment it is unclear when the stained glass will return to the library," the city spokesperson indicated. It is expected that the work will take approximately a year.

On February 20, the government included the building from 1910, which originally served as the seat of the Opava Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on the list of National Cultural Monuments. The object was designed by Vienna architect Leopold Bauer, who won the competition announced by the then Opava Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The project represents the transition from Art Nouveau and modernism to interwar classicism and historicism. The construction itself took place between 1908 and 1910. The object served its original purpose until 1949. After nationalization, it became the House of Enlightenment Petra Bezruče. In the 1980s, the authorities renamed it the House of Culture Petra Bezruče.

A dominant feature of the building's interior is a massive marble double-wing staircase connecting the ground floor with the first floor. The main hall of the building is adorned with additional stained glass. Its author was Opava painter Adolf Zdrazila, who collaborated with the building's architect Leopold Bauer on several commissions in Opava. The paintings depict women as symbols of crafts in Silesia. Another Silesian artist, sculptor Josef Obeth, is the author of four sculptures above the main entrance to the building and 16 stone reliefs on the facade.