In the autumn, the renovation of the historic house U Rytířů should begin in Litomyšl

Litomyšl - In autumn, the renovation of the historic house U Rytířů in Litomyšl should begin. The building houses the city gallery, which lacks exhibition, storage, and archive spaces, and the building also does not meet current standards for barrier-free access. The city has received a grant from the Ministry of Regional Development for the repairs, which are expected to start after the visitor season ends, said Mayor Daniel Brýdl (Generace 89).

"We want to wait until the end of the tourist season because this year it is also associated with the celebration of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana, and we expect that people will come to Litomyšl in larger numbers. Then the building will be closed, and two years of reconstruction will follow," Brýdl stated.

The main goal of the modifications is to expand the exhibition space, storage rooms, and archives of the gallery to simplify the handling of artistic artifacts. Today, if they are larger in size, they cannot be transported via the current staircase. The house will also open up more to the public and will offer a café and a store for art publications and tickets in the courtyard.

The rear section of the house, which is in a dilapidated condition and is currently unused, is also set for restoration. In the future, it is planned to house service areas for the gallery, such as restrooms and an educational workshop near the entrance from Růžová Street. An elevator for barrier-free access to the exhibition spaces, which will also be useful for transporting exhibits, will be installed there. Both sections will be connected by an arcade corridor, yet they will function independently due to a newly inserted external staircase.

The cost of the renovation is estimated at around 45 million crowns, according to Pavel Kubeš, head of the investment department of the Litomyšl City Hall, while the city has secured a European grant of 38.74 million crowns for it. The town hall should soon receive the completed project documentation and then announce a competition for the company that will carry out the renovations.

The house U Rytířů is located in the middle of the square, almost opposite the town hall tower. It is one of the oldest and most valuable houses in the city due to its well-preserved original façade decoration and parts of the interior. Its stylistic conception refers to the artistic circle of the Pernštejn Court in Pardubice. The house began to be transformed into its current Renaissance form probably by the stonemason master Blažek for himself after the great fire that nearly engulfed the entire city in 1540. It was probably completed as early as 1546. It lost part of its Renaissance appearance due to minor as well as more significant modifications. The first significant transformation that changed its exterior took place in 1814 when the original, presumably high Renaissance gable was replaced by an Empire-style cornice.