The gallery is preparing a tender for the repair of the Hus monument

Prague - The Gallery of the Capital City of Prague (GHMP) will announce a tender in the coming weeks for the repair of the monument to Master Jan Huss in Prague's Old Town Square. This was stated by the outgoing director of the gallery, Milan Bufka, to ČTK. The repair could begin at the turn of the year and will cost approximately 16 million crowns excluding VAT. It should be completed in 2015, which marks the 600th anniversary of Huss's execution.
    "The deadline for submitting bids will be two months. If no complications arise, we could know the winning company in December," Bufka told ČTK.
    The repair of the monument was preceded by extensive restoration research, which, according to Bufka, will be part of the tender documentation for the contract. Restorers examined not only the statue but also the underground beneath the monument. During their work, they discovered an entrance to a four-meter-deep basement with brick foundations of the statue.
    Prague has been planning the repair of the Art Nouveau monument for several years. However, due to a lack of funds and disagreements over financing methods, it has been postponed multiple times. The bronze sculpture by architect Ladislav Šaloun, which is one of the dominant features of the Old Town Square, urgently needs intervention from restorers. According to experts, similar sculptures should undergo inspection at least every fifty years. The statue in the Old Town Square dates back to 1915, and according to available information, it has not yet been restored.
    The monument has rusted internal joints that hold the sculpture together. "Bronze is a material that has high quality, but almost all the screws are rusted. The joints between the individual parts of the statue are thus separating, and water is penetrating inside," stated Petra Hoftichová from GHMP last year. Rainwater also damages the masonry structure of the monument.
    The statue depicts Master Jan Huss standing in the middle of a group of figures, among whom are Hussites and post-Battle of White Mountain emigrants. The bronze surface is mechanically damaged after years, affected by bullets and, at the end of World War II, shrapnel from an exploding bomb. Therefore, restorers will completely clean and repair both the statue and the granite pedestal. They will apply a protective layer to the metal surfaces.