Island in Karlovy Vary region wants to start renovations of the interiors in the cultural center this year

Ostrov - Ostrov in the Karlovy Vary region wants to start renovations of the interiors of the monument-protected House of Culture this year. The main hall, cinema café, and other spaces, where creative and cultural offices are to be established, will undergo reconstruction. The city hall has received a grant for the project worth 72 million crowns, informed ČTK by Deputy Mayor Pavel Čekan (Local). The cultural house in Ostrov is the venue for the Ota Hoffman Children's Film and Television Festival.

This year, the city hall plans to start construction modifications, after which it will address the equipment and technology. The main hall will receive new audiovisual technology, with plans for stage lighting and sound, as well as a new curtain and scenery. The cinema café and the spaces for the film laboratory serving the needs of the children's film festival are also set to be improved.

The project also includes the creation of recording studios. "Videos could be filmed here, and virtual reality could be created. I believe that if this works out, the Ostrov House of Culture could become a center for the creative industry,” said Čekan.

The city received a grant from the Integrated Regional Operational Program (IROP) for the renovations of the House of Culture. The grant will amount to 42 million crowns. The remaining part will be funded by the sixteen-thousand-strong city from its own budget. The work is expected to last about two years.

The House of Culture already has the outer shell of the building completed. Some time ago, the city hall had all the windows replaced and the facade repaired. The work cost nearly 30 million crowns.

The House of Culture in Ostrov, built between 1954 and 1955, is an example of traditionalism. It is a dominant feature of Peace Square, which was also created in this architectural style. The House of Culture narrowly missed being included among the significant monuments of the Czech-German Ore Mountains, which were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Every year, it hosts the Ota Hoffman Children's Film and Television Festival. This year's 55th edition, set to take place in the fall, will be dedicated to the fairy tale Three Nuts for Cinderella.