<translated>Museum of the city is planning a competition for a new building</translated>

Prague - The Museum of the Capital City of Prague is planning to renovate its main building in Prague at Florenc and is also planning to build a new structure. This was stated today at a press conference by the museum's director Zuzana Strnadová. The new building, for which an architectural competition will be announced, should be located opposite the historic building. The city councilor for culture Milan Richter added that the reconstruction along with the new building could preliminarily cost about 540 million crowns.
    Richter also commented on his intention to merge the museum with the city gallery, which has caused dissatisfaction in both institutions and among the expert public. "This is only an ideological concept, a topic for consideration for me and for the directors (of the museum and gallery). Under no circumstances will either the museum or the gallery cease to exist; the organizations would remain separate, operating as detached workplaces," the councilor told ČTK.
    Richter states that he has a preliminary study indicating that the merger could lead to cost savings; the city is currently assessing the proposal. Opposition within the city council, the leadership of both institutions, and entities such as the Art History Society are against his idea.
    Deputy of the ČSSD Miroslav Poche told ČTK earlier that he believes the purpose of the merger is rather to establish a new position of marketing director, for which there were no means in a smaller institution. He suggests that the proposed position of general director would lead to increased expenses.
    The museum's director considers the merger of both institutions unnecessary and a step that would hinder the operation of both organizations. Moreover, she states that the mentioned savings are no longer feasible at the museum - for example, almost a million collection items are managed by eight curators following the reorganization.
    According to the director, the museum is experiencing an increase in attendance, and the exhibitions organized by it are successful. "Last year we had 25 percent higher attendance than in 2006," she told ČTK.
    The museum is expanding its collections, having twice as many today compared to 1990. There is an increase not only in acquisitions and donations but also in archaeological finds that appear in Prague and legally belong to the city. Archaeological discoveries make up two-thirds of the museum's collections, with the rest being historical collections. Due to the increase in the number of exhibits, the museum claims it needs to expand its capacity. This has been considered throughout the 20th century.
    The museum has seven facilities, including two depositories. According to Strnadová, before 1990, the collections stored in depositories were dispersed across 11 locations. The depositories are expected to be completed in two years. The museum has an annual budget of around 50 million crowns, with the city providing an additional 30 to 60 million crowns annually in recent years for the expansion of the depositories.
    The new building is expected to house Langweil's model of Prague, exhibitions on urbanism, and other operations that do not need to be in the historic building, which could open more to the public, the director said.