After 30 years, the renovations of Špilberk in Brno have ended

Brno - After 30 years of extensive work, the main part of the renovations of Brno's landmark - Špilberk Castle - has been completed in recent days. The costs amounted to one billion crowns. New exhibition halls with three exhibits have been created in the recently renovated southern wing of the castle, and the once very popular castle wine cellar has also been reconstructed, said Pavel Ciprian, the director of the Museum of the City of Brno, which is located at Špilberk, to ČTK today.
    Although the castle was the seat of the Moravian margraves, it became famous as the "prison of nations" due to its casemates. Their restoration several years ago initiated the overall reconstruction of the castle. The recently renovated southern wing was closed to the public on April 1, 1987.
    Since then, it has only been used as a storage facility. The restoration of this part of the castle cost about 150 million crowns over the past three years. The owner of the castle, which is Brno, invested in it. The city received approximately one-third of the project costs from EU subsidies.
    In recent years, the wing has been returning to the appearance it had during World War II when it was home to the Wehrmacht. This part of the castle complex now has a restored original cellar, which was part of the royal palace in the 13th century. During the renovation of the wing, archaeologists discovered a copper sheet, which medieval coiners used to produce counterfeit coins, as well as a walled-up cat. The original cellar connects to spaces on the ground floor and two additional floors, which were created in the first half of the 19th century. Visitors will find the exhibition "About New Brno," which presents Brno's architecture from the interwar period when numerous significant functionalist buildings were constructed in the city.
    This is followed by the exhibition "From Modernism to the Present." In seven rooms, visitors will find the best of visual art that has emerged in Brno after World War II.
    The third attraction of the southern wing is the exhibition "Krystalíza her," which is part of the Orbis pictus Play project. It is intended for representatives of all generations and allows interaction with light, sound, and even wind on the terrace through various exhibits.
    Ciprian emphasized that the reconstruction of the southern wing with its new exhibitions should help make the castle more attractive to the public. Although further repairs are planned, they will not be as extensive as those so far.
    The slopes below the castle are also to be modified. The city plans to connect them with a bike path and create a vineyard on them. There has also been discussion for years about the possibility of building a cable car linking the city center with Špilberk.