Conservationists found undamaged stones from Charles Bridge in a storage facility

Source
Markéta Horešovská
Publisher
ČTK
12.02.2010 17:10
Czech Republic

Prague

Prague - The National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) discovered during an inspection of the storage of stones removed from the Charles Bridge that there are also blocks in good condition. Only damaged stones, which cannot be returned to the bridge structure, are supposed to be taken to the storage. "We were surprised by how large the number of discarded stones is. We will try to reassess them and return some of them to the sections of the bridge that are still awaiting restoration," said NPÚ director Naďa Goryczková today in a statement to ČTK.
    The inspection found exceptionally valuable original medieval pieces among the discarded ones. According to heritage experts, there are also blocks that can be returned to the masonry of the bridge’s wall after conservation. The blocks could also be returned to those parts of the bridge on its Malá Strana side that have already been repaired but could be revised within potential complaints. However, claims can only be made by the investor after the project is handed over, so it is unclear if this will happen.
    Other blocks could be placed into the riverbank pillar in the area of Křižovnické Square. This would also save them for potential further use, the director noted.
    Excessive removal of stone blocks from the bridge was one of the points of criticism regarding the ongoing bridge repairs, published over a year ago by the Cultural Ministry's heritage inspection. Later, there were also voices claiming that stones were not only being destroyed in a crusher but preserved medieval pieces were also being sold. "We have no information about the physical destruction of the stones; however, we cannot rule it out. This could be potentially confirmed during the inspection, when individual pieces would be tracked according to their numbers," the director stated.
    The NPÚ's inspection of the storage facility in Šutka, Prague 8, is part of the institute's efforts to find out how the work on the bridge has progressed in recent months and whether some earlier deficiencies have been addressed following the decision made by the municipal heritage department last August, which promised more stringent adherence to the heritage law.
    Prague, as the project investor, rejected the criticism from the beginning; last summer, its heritage department was fined CZK 54,000 for insufficient preparatory documentation; however, damage to the heritage was not found. In December, the Minister of Culture initiated a suggestion to the Plzeň Region to decide on possible further sanctions in administrative proceedings. For damaging a national cultural monument, its owner can today face a fine of up to four million crowns.
    NPÚ intends to evaluate the condition of the stones in storage in connection with the municipal heritage department and establish the conditions under which it will be possible to handle the valuable stone blocks. This will relate to the storage, potential transport to another storage site, or back to the bridge for reinstallation into its structure.
    The current phase of the bridge reconstruction should end in the middle of this year, but it is likely to be extended. This will be followed by the reconstruction of the facade and arches of the bridge. Builders plan to start this in 2013, as they are waiting for the opening of the sandstone quarry that was used in the construction of the Charles Bridge. The same stone is not mined anywhere else in the Czech Republic.
The English translation is powered by AI tool. Switch to Czech to view the original text source.
1 comment
add comment
Subject
Author
Date
Historické kameny
Igor Krčmář
16.02.10 09:58
show all comments

Related articles