The renovation of Prague's Clam-Gallas Palace has been delayed

Prague – The reconstruction of the Baroque Clam-Gallas Palace, which started in 2018, has been delayed. The spokesperson for the Prague City Hall, Vít Hofman, told ČTK that the reason is project modifications due to circumstances discovered during the first part of the works. According to the spokesperson, the renovation of the palace, owned by the city, has now entered its second phase, which mainly consists of restoration work. Originally, the repairs were supposed to be completed this year, and according to initial information, they are expected to cost 344 million crowns.

The reconstruction of the complex in Mariánské náměstí began in October 2018. The repairs concern both the interiors and three gardens. The building previously housed the Archives of the Capital City of Prague, which gradually relocated to a new building in Chodovec by 2017. After the reconstruction, there should be a restaurant and a wine bar in the palace, with exhibitions and display areas in the representative halls.

"We have successfully completed the rough construction work, during which many unexpected issues were revealed. This resulted in many project modifications that slowed down the construction process," Hofman explained. He added that restorers are now primarily working on the construction site. "For example, wooden floor structures, figurative and non-figurative stone decorations, paintings, frescoes, wallpapers, stuccos, and more are being restored. After the completion of these activities, the interior should regain its original beauty and grandeur," the spokesperson stated.

According to him, work is also continuing in the exteriors, where paving and preparatory work for gardeners began in the gardens by Rotta and behind the Terezka fountain. "Scaffolding is also being erected for the reconstruction of the building's facades. After the completion of the individual scaffolds, we will conduct an exploration of the facade layers, after which the final color shade of the building's facade should be determined," Hofman concluded.

The reconstruction of the palace was part of a project from 2010, in which the city leadership intended, following an architectural competition, to also renovate the New Town Hall building and the Mariánské náměstí itself. In total, this involved an investment of more than 1.2 billion crowns. However, the city recently canceled the contractor competition due to high costs.

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