The newly revived Libušín lodge is a gem of the Beskydy Pustevny

Prague - Selection of information about the Libušín lodge in Pustevny in the Beskids (the lodge, which burned down in March 2014, will be ceremonially opened on July 30 after restoration):

- The complex of buildings in Pustevny in the Beskids, which includes Libušín and the neighboring lodge Maměnka, as well as the Pustevenka and Valachian bell tower, was built between 1897 and 1899 at the request of the Pohorská jednota Radhošť according to the design of architect Dušan Jurkovič and builder Michal Urbánek. The ornate appearance of the buildings was created by combining various elements and motifs of folk architecture from Wallachia and Slovakia.

- The wooden Lodge Libušín was opened on August 6, 1899. The interior of the tourist shelter, which bears the name of the mythical princess Libuše, was decorated with frescoes and graphics featuring motifs from Wallachian and Slovak legends according to the design of artist Mikoláš Aleš. The portraits are the work of the academic painter Karel Štapler.

- In 1947, the buildings faced demolition due to their poor technical condition. Only thanks to Jurkovič's intervention were the buildings saved. The area faced a second threat of destruction at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s, when reconstruction of the buildings was halted due to a lack of money. The situation was further complicated by a dispute over the ownership of the buildings.

- In 1995, the owner of the complex became the Wallachian Open-Air Museum. In the same year, the area was declared a national cultural monument. In 1996, the museum began the reconstruction of Libušín and the Valachian bell tower, which were opened to the public in 1999. In that same year, the reconstruction of the Maměnka lodge began.

- The Libušín lodge served as a restaurant until the tragic fire on the night of March 2 to 3, 2014, when it was almost completely burned down. The damage to this national cultural monument was estimated at 80 million CZK.

- The Wallachian Open-Air Museum decided to restore Libušín after the fire, and the construction of the new lodge began in the summer of 2017. It was a scientific reconstruction, during which original technologies were used. The building received slightly different colors and returned to its form from 1925, when all its parts were completed.

- The costs of restoring Libušín reached approximately 111.5 million CZK, of which the construction itself required about 96 million CZK. Including costs for clearing the fire site, securing the construction site, or pre-project documentation, more than 117 million CZK was invested in the building since the fire.

- During the investigation of the fire, investigators found that the fire was not started intentionally and that it was not caused by a defect in the electrical installation. The site of the fire was determined to be the chimney structure. The case was then brought before the district court in Vsetín, and according to the indictment, the tragedy was caused by Pavel Pryszcz from Karvinsko, who neglected the repair of chimney structures in 2007. The district court in Vsetín acquitted Pryszcz in June of this year.

- The National Museum in Nature, as the administrator of Libušín, issued a call for its operator for the third time at the beginning of July. In the previous two selection procedures for the operator, the company Tim Hortons Slovakia won. After the second competition, representatives of the company urged the museum to organize a new selection procedure. The company wanted the new procedure to contain different conditions in the lease agreement. Three interested parties applied for the third competition.