Two rooms on Ještěd are regaining their original form

Liberec - Two rooms in the Ještěd mountain hotel and transmitter in Liberec are being restored to their original appearance from the 1970s. The restoration is expected to cost 390,000 crowns. Milena Lánská, the secretary of the Ještěd 73 association, announced this today via ČTK. The association has been involved in the restoration of the interiors at Ještěd for several years.

The original appearance of the rooms has been returning since last year. "We would like to have the basic stage of the restoration completed by summer. The completion depends on how successfully we can obtain funding," Lánská stated.

The Liberec region has promised 100,000 crowns for the restoration of the rooms, and the hotel operator will contribute the same amount. "We are looking for the remaining funds among sponsors and the public," Lánská said. For instance, floorball players contributed to the room restoration by donating 1.50 crowns for each goal during the Nisaopen tournament held in Liberec at the end of May and beginning of June. "We managed to raise over 8,500 crowns," Lánská added.

The association aims to return furniture and accessories that were created during the construction of the hotel more than 40 years ago, based on the designs of architect Otakar Binar. "Where possible, we will use preserved originals that will undergo careful renovation," Lánská stated. In other cases, replicas will be made according to her. Binar designed a furniture system in the shape of the letter H for the rooms, from which individual pieces like nightstands, coffee tables, shelves, and structures for chairs and beds were assembled like building blocks.

The Ještěd hotel and transmitter has been in operation since 1973. Karel Hubáček received the prestigious international Perret Prize for this unique building. Ještěd was chosen as the Czech building of the 20th century in a public survey. An estimated half a million people visit it each year. The Ještěd 73 association has been trying to restore the interior to its original appearance since 2012. It has already managed to renovate the lounge for around half a million crowns and the neighboring bar for more than 800,000 crowns.

However, Ještěd, which is a national cultural monument, needs a complete renovation. All necessary documentation for the reconstruction should be completed within two years, and the estimated cost of the restoration will be 200 million crowns. Investments will be needed for both technological and construction aspects, with the biggest issues concerning air conditioning and cladding. The owner of the hotel and transmitter has been Česká Radiokomunikace since 2000, which acquired Ještěd for 85 million crowns. Since then, they have invested over 50 million crowns in its repairs.