The transformation of Prague's Malostranské Square will cost 84.4 million crowns

Prague – The planned modifications of Prague's Malostranské náměstí will be carried out for the Prague City Hall by the company Gardenline for 84.4 million crowns excluding VAT. The city council approved the contract today. The price is about ten million crowns higher than anticipated, which is attributed by the city hall to the current labor market situation. After the modifications, the upper part of the square will have the parking lot removed, the sidewalks will be widened, and the traffic lanes for cars will be narrowed. The city expects to begin construction in the spring of next year.

According to the approved document, the aim of the modifications is to return the square to its original purpose as a meeting place. A new fountain, benches, and other furniture will be placed in the area, and trees will be planted. The project aims to preserve the historical appearance as much as possible, including original lamps, pavement, the plague column, and the hand pump.

Work will begin in the spring in the upper part of the square, between the Liechtenstein Palace and St. Nicholas Church. It will then continue down, including further archaeological exploration. "Work on the lower (eastern) part of the square, that is, along the tram track and between the Grömling Palace, the Malostranská Beseda, and the Sternberg Palace, will be carried out in 2023," the document states.

"We can look forward to a completely finished square at the turn of 2023 and 2024, depending also on the progress of the archaeological work," said Deputy Mayor Petr Hlaváček (TOP 09). He added that the archaeological exploration is necessary due to the planned replacement of engineering networks. The city will coordinate the work with the road office of Prague 1 to avoid problems with the square's accessibility, he added.

The final price is higher than the city originally anticipated, also attributed by the city hall to the fact that the contract was issued during a state of emergency. "It can be assumed that this increase is due to the current situation in the labor market – rising wage costs, a shortage of workers, costs associated with the state of emergency, government measures, etc.," states the document. The issuance of the contract was approved by the city council in May of last year.

In preparing the modifications, the city hall based its plans on a project that architects Martin Hájek, Václav Hájek, and Petr Horský succeeded with in an international architectural competition in 2014. In 2016, the city removed the parking lot from the lower part of the square and tried to hold cultural events there, but without much public interest. The city also reconstructed the tram tracks in the square, around which new pavement was placed, which will be installed throughout the area after the overall renovation.

The Radecký Prague Association, with the support of the Prague 1 City Hall, is striving to have the equestrian statue of the Austro-Hungarian Marshal Radetzky returned to the square, which stood there between 1858 and 1919. According to Hlaváček, the city leadership does not currently plan for this, but there will be space for the statue in the reconstructed square. "We thought about it, so that if any political representation wanted to place a monument there in the future, there would be space without networks. But the actual reconstruction will not make any steps for it," he said.

Prague has also launched or is preparing modifications to other public spaces. Last spring, work began on the reconstruction of the lower part of Wenceslas Square for 326.6 million crowns. Plans are also in place for modifications to the upper part, though it is unclear when they will begin. The transformation of Karlovo náměstí, Jiřího z Poděbrad Square, and Vítězné náměstí has also been under preparation for a long time.