Clam-Gallas Palace Prague will be reconstructed for 343.9 million CZK

Prague - The reconstruction of the Clam-Gallas Palace in the Marian Square in the historical center of Prague will cost 343.9 million crowns. The city council of the capital approved the selection of the contractor today, which will be Subterra. The reconstruction is expected to last 28 months, and after its completion, the palace will be opened to the public. The extensive repairs of the palace have been in planning by Prague for several years.

In the first eight months, the basement will be modified, an elevator shaft will be built on all floors, facilities for staff will be established, and hot water heating will be connected in the New Town Hall building. This will be followed by the reconstruction of exhibition spaces, the installation of an exhibition on baroque life "The Shine of Baroque Aristocracy," and a seasonal exhibition in the attic. The project also anticipates the accessibility of the attic.

Through the reconstruction project, Prague is addressing the question of what will happen to the palace after the City Archive moves to new premises in the Chodovec area. The courtyard of the palace is to become a venue for concerts and theatrical performances. In the ground floor of the palace, there will be shops with a focus on cultural goods, a café, a ticket office, and social facilities. The project was prepared by architects from the MACADAM association.

The opposition previously criticized the approach of first reconstructing the building and then having the city select an operator. Thus, the needs of the operator will not be taken into account during the reconstruction.

The reconstruction of the palace was part of a 2010 project, in which the city leadership intended to renovate the New Town Hall and the Marian Square itself following an architectural competition. Altogether, it was an investment of over 1.2 billion crowns. However, the city previously canceled the contractor competition due to high costs. Project work costs have already amounted to tens of millions of crowns. According to the original plan, the reconstruction was supposed to correct inappropriate structural and technical interventions from previous years.

The Clam-Gallas Palace, which was built at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries by Tomáš Haffenecker according to the design of the Viennese court architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach for Count Jan Václav Gallas, is considered by experts to be an architectural gem.