Prague has completed the reconstruction of the Baroque palace, which will gradually open to the public

Prague - The Prague City Hall has completed the reconstruction of the baroque Clam-Gallas Palace on Mariánské náměstí. It began in 2018 and cost approximately 569 million crowns including VAT. City representatives opened the restored monument today. The palace will first open to the public on October 28, and next year, the Museum of the City of Prague (MMP) will have the premises available to set up exhibitions dedicated to baroque Prague. The city plans to establish a restaurant or shops on the ground floor of the palace.

According to experts, it is one of the best-preserved noble urban palaces in the world. The current high baroque form of the palace was created between 1714 and 1718 by builder Tomáš Haffenecker according to the design of Vienna's court architect Johann Bernard Fischer von Erlach for Count Jan Václav Gallas. Since World War II, it has housed the Archives of the Capital City of Prague, which has gradually moved to a new building in Chodovec since 2017.

The reconstruction began about four years ago, with preparations starting back in 2010. "This palace embodies the baroque period, and Prague is perceived worldwide as one of the best destinations to go for baroque monuments," said today the city councilor Jan Chabr (TOP 09). He added that the city hall will soon announce tenders for the rental of a restaurant, café, and three other spaces that could be shops or galleries, for example.

According to architect Petr Malinský, who designed the reconstruction with his studio ARPEMA, archaeologists discovered interesting cellars from the original Gothic buildings that were later replaced by the palace. The restorers also uncovered painted baroque frescoes near the main staircase.

The interesting find, according to the architect, concerned the façade, which was originally painted gray, reflecting the appearance of the reconstructed palace. This also applies to the titan sculptures, which were uncovered for a long time down to the sandstone. "It turned out, however, that there was never an intention to present that stone; remnants of the original color were found everywhere in the folds," explained the architect. He added that it was challenging to convince the heritage protectors, who ultimately acknowledged the findings. Thus, according to the architect, the building looks from the outside as it did in the early 18th century.

The palace will host social events, with the largest portion of the space allocated to MMP. The first public tour day will be September 28. From October 17 to November 17, an exhibition titled Clam-Gallas Palace in Prague will take place at Mariánské náměstí, and from October 20 to January 30 next year, there will be an exhibition dedicated to the late baroque composer Josef Mysliveček directly in the palace.

The first exhibition led by MMP will be titled From the Coronation of 1723 to the Coronation of 1743 and will take place from March 28 next year until January 29, 2024. Meanwhile, permanent interior tours with period furnishings are expected to begin on the second floor of the palace in June. The museum plans to open an exhibition dedicated to baroque Prague in mid-2024, which will include a number of exhibits from the MMP collections.