Heritage conservationists disagree with the painting of the lamps on the Legion Bridge

Prague - The lamps on the Legií Bridge received a new coating in October, carried out by the company managing these lights. The change is noticeable at first glance; instead of the patina that similar monuments usually have, the entire lamps are painted dark green. The National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) has prompted the Prague City Hall and Prague 1 to initiate administrative proceedings regarding this matter.
     The Monument Preservation Department of the city hall is investigating the prompt; if it finds it serious, it will take the necessary measures, said the city hall spokeswoman Tereza Králová to ČTK.
     "The painting of the bridge occurred without the expert opinion of the NPÚ, which was not even asked to prepare one," said NPÚ spokeswoman Dita Roubíčková to ČTK today. The employees of the Eltodo company made a mistake. They accidentally painted not only the columns but also their dominant bronze elements - the lower parts equipped with doors featuring figurative reliefs and floral motifs.
     "The restoration and maintenance of such elements need to be addressed in collaboration with a professional restorer. Unfortunately, the intervention has led to the destruction of the noble patina, which takes a very long time to develop on copper. Now it will be necessary to remove the existing green coating as gently as possible to avoid further damage to the mentioned decorative elements," said the spokeswoman.
     The change in the appearance of the lamps was already mentioned in October by artist Viktor Karlík, who noticed it. He pointed out that green patina forms on copper and bronze over a long time, which can be observed during the restoration of monuments where new copper gutters or parts of roofs and towers first darken to brown, then turn black, and only subsequently does the green patina begin to develop due to weather conditions. This results in what is called noble patina, which protects the metal or its alloy while creating an unmistakable aesthetic character.
     However, such patina is not easy to simulate without long-term weather influences; its formation is a process that takes decades. Therefore, during cultivated restoration of sculptures, care is taken to preserve the existing patina as much as possible, and if there is no other way, then it is expertly simulated.