The renovation of the Litomyšl museum should be cheaper than originally planned

Litomyšl (Svitavy) - The renovation of the historic building of the Regional Museum in Litomyšl should be cheaper than originally planned. The initial estimated cost of the project was 70.5 million crowns, but the final price from the competition announced by the Pardubice Region turned out to be 46.6 million. This information was provided to ČTK by the Deputy Governor responsible for investments, Jan Tichý (ČSSD).
    "The tender was without restrictions on the number of applicants. A total of twelve companies applied. Eighty-five percent of the project cost will be covered by European funds," Tichý stated.
    The museum in Litomyšl has been closed to the public since the beginning of July, and its items are being moved to temporary locations. The winner of the tender, the construction company PKS INPOS from Žďár nad Sázavou, will take over the empty building in September. The museum will reopen to visitors in mid-2014. Currently, the museum staff offices are located in the Czech Post building on Smetanovo Square, and the museum has no temporary exhibition space. However, the museum employees will collaborate with other cultural institutions in the city to organize exhibitions. They will also work on a new permanent exhibition for the reconstructed museum.
    The Baroque building from the early 18th century is set to be expanded with an integrated entrance building featuring a foyer and social amenities. The project aims to create new exhibition and social spaces and facilities for presentation and educational events. The project author is architect Josef Pleskot.
    The Litomyšl Museum was founded in 1891 and was located in the premises of the dissolved municipal real school. In 1926, it moved to a spacious Baroque building of the former Piarist gymnasium, built between 1714 and 1718. The museum has been located in this building ever since. Since the 1990s, the museum's management also includes the birthplace of Bedřich Smetana. In 2004, the former municipal museum was transformed into a regional museum with jurisdiction over the Svitavy district, and its founder became the Pardubice Region.