The Moravian Gallery plans to cover the courtyard and attract more visitors

Brno - The Moravian Gallery today presented the first proposals for the reconstruction of the Governor's Palace, which include covering the courtyard and providing access to the area from Běhounská Street. The aim of all modifications is to attract more people to the palace, especially on weekends and holidays. The changes must be approved by heritage conservationists, who are not yet very pleased with the proposals, architect Antonín Novák said to reporters today. The repairs are expected to cost around 450 million crowns, with the main part of the funding sought from European funds.
    The project anticipates that in the spaces of the Governor's Palace, whose main part is used by the gallery for its permanent and temporary exhibitions, a national methodological center for new museum presentation strategies will be established.
    "This should deal with what meanings different presentation methods can assign to works of art. We will try to define the most suitable types of presentations for specific works. For example, whether to simply hang a painting on the wall and attach a text, or to supplement it with animation or some technology," said the director of the Moravian Gallery Marek Pokorný.
    According to Novák, the building of the palace should become a magnet for visiting the center of Brno, which is gradually becoming depopulated due to the construction of shopping centers on the outskirts of the city. The quiet zone under the covered courtyard should offer activities for the whole family. "There will be studios for children, mothers can sit in the café, and fathers can look at the collection of Renaissance art," said Novák.
    On the ground floor of the palace, the gallery plans to build a so-called simulator with extensive facilities of various panels and types of lighting. It would serve for public workshops, and could also be used for short-term exhibitions and experiments by art schools and other museum institutions. "We are focused on how the works will be exhibited. So that people understand what they will see in the museum," added Pokorný.
    The first phase of the reconstruction of the Governor's Palace could begin as early as next year, according to gallery representatives, and end around 2012. The palace adjoins St. Thomas Church and together with it forms the main dominant feature of Moravian Square. In addition to the permanent collection of old art, there are halls for current exhibitions, a concert hall for 150 people, a café, and a museum shop. In the summer, rock and jazz concerts are held in the courtyard.
    On the site of the palace, there was an Augustinian monastery from the Middle Ages. The building acquired its current form mainly due to a baroque reconstruction in the 18th century. After the Augustinians were evicted, the palace was used by new state, regional, and estate offices. It served as the seat of offices and the regional president even after 1918. From 1955 to 1989, the building housed the Museum of the Labor Movement of Brno.