The restoration of the Beskydy lodge Libušín is based on manual labor

Prague - The ornamentally decorated wooden lodge Libušín in Pustevny in the Beskydy Mountains, which was partially destroyed by fire five years ago on March 3, 2014, is rising from the ashes. In a public fundraising campaign, people sent a record 10 million for the restoration of this Art Nouveau gem, the museum received additional money from insurance, and a significant portion of the total 100 million crowns was covered by the Ministry of Culture. The restoration of Libušín is expected to be completed by the end of this year.

The cause of the fire on the night of March 2-3, 2014, was poorly repaired stoves and a chimney. The flames primarily destroyed the right part of the building, where the most artistically valuable dining room is located, a masterpiece by architect Dušan Jurkovič.

Libušín, a symbol of Pustevny along with other structures, was declared a national cultural monument in 1995. Jurkovič collaborated with Mikoláš Aleš on its interiors, which were adorned with motifs from Wallachian and Slovak legends.

The building named after the legendary princess Libuše was opened in 1899 and originally served as a restaurant. Unique were the three Art Nouveau chandeliers, a sideboard, a greenhouse, and clocks; the furnishings included one hundred carved chairs.

Based on Aleš's drawings of the robbers Ondráš and Juráš, the porter Stavinoha, and the god Radegast, academic painter Karel Štapfer painted the interiors of Libušín. As was his custom, Jurkovič drew inspiration for the exteriors from folk buildings in various Wallachian and Kysuce villages.

His Libušín contains all elements of folk architecture with rich woodcarving and ornamentation. Even the edges of the shingle roof look like lace. They are typical of the early period of Jurkovič's work and express his romantic fascination with wooden folk buildings.

"It is not enough to wander in the mountains and color this or that cottage or costume and call it national art," Jurkovič described his approach to work. "One must live with the landscape and the people, with their history, faith, and their daily problems. I always want to incorporate something original, something of my own into art."

His Libušín is particularly ornate with its balconies, verandas, carved pillars, grooved beams, stepped gables, and painted chimneys, giving it the impression of an opulent residence.

The Wallachian Open-Air Museum, which owns the lodge, decided after the fire to preserve the remains of the structure to help prepare project documentation for scientific reconstruction. The museum salvaged some parts from the fire scene.

"The Libušín building is very significant for tourism and Pustevny. The fire was just as catastrophic as if the National Theatre had burned down, therefore the slogan 'Wallachians for themselves' is appropriate here," said former mayor of Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Markéta Blinková.

The contractor for the repairs became the Brno-based company Archatt, which previously carried out the reconstruction of the Brno villa Tugendhat and the National Theatre in Prague.

During the restoration of the lodge, which began in the summer of 2016, craftsmen used approximately one thousand square meters of quality fir shingles. The actual construction was made by carpenters in Bystřička. They first assembled the hand-hewn beams in a hall. Then they marked them, disassembled them, transported them to Pustevny, and reassembled the new log beauty. It took them an entire day to make one beam.

The new Libušín was created as a scientific reconstruction, which means that original technologies were used in the construction. However, the building is designed to withstand time and weather fluctuations much better than if it had been built from machine-processed beams.

In the new structure, about seven percent of elements from the original lodge have been used, which were salvaged or stored in the repository after reconstructions. Craftsmen restored windows and doors in the workshops.

After restoration, Libušín will have slightly different colors, returning to the appearance of 1925 when all of its parts were completed. The body of the building will be lighter, the shades of colors will also change, the red will not be as pronounced as before, and the earlier white will have a slight ochre tint. It will be heated using heat pumps, which are already finished. Funds for the restoration of Libušín were also contributed by the regions, and Lesy ČR supplied the wood.