Brno has selected companies to build a lapidarium at Špilberk

Brno - The city council of Brno today approved the selection of companies Archatt and Tocháček, which will build a lapidarium and professional facilities at Špilberk for 93 million crowns. Work could begin at the end of June and should last about a year, said Richard Mrázek, the mayor's deputy (ANO), to reporters today. Most of the costs will be covered by a grant from the European Union.

The city originally expected that costs would exceed 100 million crowns. However, the tender resulted in a lower price. The reconstruction concerns the northern annex of the castle and an unused water reservoir, which consists of two separate underground spaces. In the past, they served as a reservoir for drinking water. The water reservoir will house a lapidarium with stone artifacts from the collections of the Museum of the City of Brno. Thus, the space will be opened to the public. "The reconstruction concerns not only the water reservoirs but will also affect other structures, especially the eastern walls, which exhibit significant erosion caused by the wind," Mrázek stated.

Restoration workshops, such as blacksmithing, a metalworking shop, and workshops for wood, stone, leather, and paper, as well as storage spaces, will be created in the northern annex. Surface modifications are planned for the northern and eastern fortress walls. Work in the northeastern bastion will involve the modification of communications, and a disconnected fire reservoir will be created in the northwestern bastion. Also needed is the waterproofing of certain areas to prevent damage caused by leaks into the castle structures.

Brno had already received a grant for the establishment of the lapidarium and workshops in the previous programming period of the European Union. However, since the project was on the brink of feasibility, Brno withdrew from it. It risked that it might not complete the project in time and would thus have to return the grant. However, the city has secured the grant a second time.

Špilberk Castle is situated above Brno and is visited by more than 100,000 paying visitors each year. Some of its parts are accessible free of charge. In recent years, the main part of the castle repairs, which cost more than a billion crowns, concluded after 30 years of work.