The meteorological booth in the neo-Renaissance style will return to the town hall in Liberec after renovation

Liberec – The monumentally protected meteorological hut from the late 19th century will once again adorn the public transport bus stop by the town hall in Liberec after renovation. It was in the care of Jablonec restorer Václav Nikendey for over two months. The meteorological hut will return to the pole behind the town hall this Saturday, city spokesperson Jana Kodymová said today to ČTK.

It is a three-meter work in the Neo-Renaissance style made of granite, iron, and copper. In 1898, it was created at the instigation of the then Mountain Society for the Ještěd and Jizera Mountains by the renowned mechanic specializing in meteorological instruments Wilhelm Lambrecht from Göttingen. The hexagonal structure resembles a town hall tower in shape. The hut is covered with a sheet metal mansard roof with metal applications in the shape of sunflowers, and the pedestal is made of Liberec granite.

However, the condition of this monument is negatively affected by its location, as it is partially protruding into the road, and in the past, passing buses have hit it several times with their rear-view mirrors. "Because it is in a very exposed location, the basic structure was already corroded. Several times, a bus has also hit it, so some elements were damaged. Thus, my task was to perform very thorough maintenance. This means that the entire meteorological hut was cleaned, new surface treatments were applied, and damaged parts were replaced," Nikendey told ČTK today. The historical meteorological hut has been renovated by the Liberec town hall after 12 years. In 2012, he repaired it with his father after it was damaged by a bus collision.

According to Deputy Mayor Jiří Janďourek (Starostové pro Liberecký kraj), they would like to separate the monumentally protected meteorological hut from the road traffic in the future. "We have started preparing a study to modify the entire area behind the Liberec town hall and in front of the theater, which means this part of Dr. Edvard Beneš Square. We want to move the bus stop edge further away from the meteorological hut, which will remain in its place," added the deputy.

The probably oldest functional meteorological hut in Liberec contains Lambrecht's polymeter, a recording thermometer, a maximum-minimum thermometer, a thermo-hygroscope, and a holosteric barometer. However, the data from them only has indicative value.