NPÚ wants to restore three monuments in the Plzeň region for hundreds of millions

Statek U Matoušů in Plzeň-Bolevec

Plzeň - The large renovations worth nearly 300 million crowns, which the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) wants to acquire from the EU under the IROP program, are expected to help increase the attractiveness of three national cultural monuments in the Plzeň region. If the heritage conservationists succeed with the projects, in 2020 the Kladruby and Plasy monasteries could present themselves with expanded and renovated spaces, and the restored farm U Matoušů in Plzeň – Bolevec will open permanently for the first time, said Petr Pavelec, the director of the NPÚ in České Budějovice, to ČTK.
A new visitor season starts today at NPÚ monuments. Last year, nearly a quarter of a million people visited 12 state monuments in the region, which is an increase of 1.5 percent year-on-year. This year, NPÚ will repair monuments in the region for 40 million crowns from its own resources.
The Kladruby and Plasy monasteries are accessible; each was visited by over 20,000 tourists last year. The rural building U Matoušů in Plzeň's Bolevec square, surrounded by panel buildings, is currently open to the public only on exceptional occasions. The project, which has been under preparation for about two years according to Pavelec, includes the restoration of the farm for 35 million crowns.
Both major monasteries are preparing reconstruction projects, each worth 124 million crowns. Kladruby will submit its application at the end of March, and Plasy in the summer.
For instance, the reconstruction in Kladruby is expected to enable the largest access to the monument to date. It will focus on exhibits dedicated to the life of monks as well as to the Windischgrätz family, who purchased the monastery, said the castle curator Milan Zoubek.
"It will be a complete restoration of the old convent building. There will be an exhibition of the Baroque pharmacy, the novices' area, and it should be connected to the paradise courtyard of the old convent," said the curator. Another part of the planned repairs will concern the new convent. It will receive facades; all the cloister corridors around the building, which are currently inaccessible, are set to open up newly. In the rooms of the northern wing, the curator plans to show visitors monk cells, a hospital cell, restore the convent chapel, and open a sala terrena. Four rooms will be dedicated to the history of the Windischgrätz family. "Our goal is to build a representative main monastery route, which will take about 1.5 hours, and it will also include the church, which, however, is not included in that grant application," added Zoubek.