Pardubice Castle will get a glass staircase from Eva Jiřičná, a prototype is already in progress

Pardubice - The glass staircase designed by architect Eva Jiřičná, which will be part of the social wing of the castle in Pardubice, is first being created as a prototype. The company will verify all the details on it so that the installation of the complex structure in the castle interiors goes smoothly. The original staircase, which is 12 meters high and more than five meters in diameter, will be assembled in Pardubice by the Brno company Empate at the beginning of next year, the region stated in a press release.

The structure of the glass staircase has 14,000 welds and more than 12,000 polished components. "The staircase for Pardubice Castle was created as part of the development of all the other staircases and structures that I have actually worked on my whole life. Light works wonders with glass, and that has always fascinated me, and I've tried to use it wherever possible," said Jiřičná.

The Pardubice region is renovating the interiors with the help of European subsidies and must adhere to the schedule. "That is why we welcomed that Empate first built a prototype solution for the staircase in its workshops, to deal with all the pitfalls so to speak in practice. In the actual implementation at Pardubice Castle, the installation could therefore take place without any unpleasant surprises and complications," said regional councilor Roman Línek (Coalition for Pardubice Region/KDU-ČSL).

The glass staircase is a complex structure, preceded by five months of design and preparation. "The staircase is a technological unique, where shaping, bending, welding and polishing come together with a precision of 0.05 millimeters," said Michal Šmidrkal, the executive director of the Brno company Empate. For production, the company made a bending machine because standard equipment did not reach the required precision.

According to Petr Vágner, who worked on the design with Jiřičná, an enriching contrast is being created between the new staircase and the historical interiors. "On this particular staircase, there is an extraordinary amount of tiny welds that are not visible at all and together create on one side that airiness and fragility, and on the other side sufficient strength to bear all the acting forces," Vágner said.

In addition to the staircase, Jiřičná designed a social hall for the castle, which has been under construction since May last year in the northern wing. It will have a foyer, catering facilities, changing rooms, and restrooms. The music hall was a great challenge because the room did not have good acoustics. A wavy bubble ceiling is to ensure it.

"So far, construction is proceeding without major problems. From a construction perspective, we should be finished by the end of 2026 and then move on to the stage of equipping the interiors. I expect that operations in the hall will begin in the second half of 2027," added Línek. The investment will amount to 165 million crowns, most of which will be covered by European subsidies.