Invalidovna is preparing for restoration and is holding tours this weekend

Prague - Conservators in Prague's Invalidovna are completing a historical survey, which serves as a basis for the preparation of design work. They are finishing the survey of Invalidovna for four million crowns, which will be completed in mid-July and is necessary because there are no plans for the 18th-century building. The director of the National Heritage Institute, Naďa Goryczková, said this today during a visit by Minister of Culture Antonín Staněk (ČSSD) to the Baroque building in Karlín.

The completion of the extensive building's restoration is expected around 2025. "We received a development strategy for Invalidovna from the contractor, which analyzes the possibilities of the Karlín area and Invalidovna as a facility and outlines how we should utilize Invalidovna until the restoration and how it should be used as part of our intent after the restoration," the director added. An exhibition dedicated to the history of the building and Karlín, an educational center focused on cultural heritage, exhibition spaces, and a part to be used for community activities are planned for Invalidovna.

Invalidovna is currently open to the public, while preparations are underway for a reconstruction costing 1.3 billion crowns. Since April, there has been a guided tour available from Friday to Sunday, leading through the eastern wing. The western wing has been provided to the Initiative for Invalidovna, which organizes cultural events there, by NPÚ as the building's administrator since May.

"We have a caretaker, maintenance worker, and workshop here, and we can handle basic maintenance tasks related to glazing windows or repairing doors ourselves. We have built a water tunnel, which allowed us to provide a water connection to the entire building and ensure water supply to Invalidovna. We cleaned the fountain, which is a gem of the entire courtyard," Goryczková further added.

NPÚ took over Invalidovna last May from the Office for State Representation in Property Affairs after the state unsuccessfully attempted to sell the monument at auction. The building was initially offered for approximately 640 million crowns.

Invalidovna was established between 1731 and 1737 according to the project of the prominent architect of Czech Baroque, Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, as a refuge for war veterans and their families. The building served as accommodation for war invalids until 1935. Later, the Military Central Archive operated there, it was significantly damaged by floods in 2002, and then the facility was transferred to ÚZSVM. In 2017, it was added to the list of national cultural monuments. The area is popular among filmmakers, with scenes from Miloš Forman's Amadeus, for example, being shot there. Today, Goryczková told ČTK that just in the first five months of this year, the filming revenue amounts to one million crowns.