The repair of the Prague Clam-Gallas Palace should be completed in the summer

Prague - The reconstruction of the Baroque Clam-Gallas Palace, which began in 2018, is expected to be completed this summer. The city hall plans to establish an exhibition of the Museum of the Capital City of Prague focused on the Baroque period and also on 18th-century composers. City councilor Hana Třeštíková (Prague Sobě) and the director of the city hall's services department, Lukáš Stránský, told journalists today. The repair costs amount to 460 million crowns excluding VAT.

"It is a Baroque palace in the city center, which is the only one owned by the capital city of Prague and will be the only one open to the public," said Třeštíková. According to Stránský, the repairs included a complete reconstruction of the technical equipment and utilities, as well as restoration work in the interiors. They also affected three gardens located in the palace. Since World War II, the Archive of the Capital City of Prague was housed there, which has moved to a new building in Chodovec.

After the reconstruction, the palace will have, in addition to exhibitions, also a restaurant and a café; the larger spaces will be used by the city for social and cultural events. The Museum of the Capital City will receive exhibition spaces, which according to Třeštíková will establish a center for Baroque art there. "Given how many Baroque artifacts the museum has in its collections, it is a great pity that they are not currently on display anywhere," said the councilor. She added that she would like to host the first events in the palace during this summer season.

The composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is often associated with the palace due to his ties to the Gallas family. However, as musicologist Marc Niubò stated today, there is no evidence that the famous composer ever visited the building. Nevertheless, the city wants to create an exhibition focused on Mozart and other 18th-century composers in the reconstructed monument, according to Třeštíková. "We want to take advantage of this opportunity that the palace offers us to convey the atmosphere of that time, to bring to life not just Mozart," she explained.

According to earlier information, the palace's reconstruction has been delayed compared to the original schedule due to complications that workers discovered in the first part of the work. "We encountered several problems that no one expected, such as the significant amount of asbestos that was introduced here during the reconstruction in the 1980s. And then there were significant structural problems on the façade facing Husova Street," said Stránský. He added that the rough work is now completed and only the restoration activities are being finalized.

The current high Baroque appearance of the palace was created in the early 18th century by builder Tomáš Haffenecker according to the design of the Viennese court architect Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach for Count Jan Václav Gallas. According to experts, it is one of the best-preserved noble urban palaces in the world.