The funeral hall of architect Ruller in Židenice has been stripped of its floors and plaster by workers.

Brno - The award-winning funeral hall designed by architect Ivan Ruller in Brno's Židenice has been stripped of its floors and plaster by workers. They have been working on the reconstruction of the modernist building since last September. It is expected to be completed next autumn. In the second half of the year, the municipal office also wants to start looking for a funeral service that would operate the hall, Mayor Petr Kunc (Voice for Židenice) said today to ČTK.

"There is no funeral hall in Židenice, so we would prefer if a private funeral service would establish a base here. We will create spaces for technical facilities and offices in the area where the morgue used to be," Kunc stated.

The hall was completed in 1985 but has been closed since 2007 and was deteriorating, with the building even facing demolition. A few years ago, the municipal district took it over, and Kunc began working on its restoration. The architect Marek Jan Štěpán is responsible for it. "He is one of the best architects for sacred buildings in the Czech Republic," Kunc believes. Štěpán is the author of, for example, the Church of Saint Wenceslas in Sazovice or the Church of Blessed Mary Restituta.

"In the first phase, the workers were removing plasters, floor coverings, and doing some other demolition work. Outside, we also had the ash trees removed. In spring, the work will focus on the main part of the building, that is, the funeral hall," the mayor stated. The work is estimated to cost about 40 million crowns, of which part will be covered by subsidies from the city hall.

The aim is to restore the hall to its original state. "Several hundred funeral halls were built in the republic, and this one is among the three or four best. It has the character of Scandinavian architecture and is unique also because of the personality of Ivan Ruller, whose works are iconic and still very valued today," said Kunc. He mentioned the Rondo Hall as an example. According to him, it is also unique that Ruller surrounded himself with a team of renowned artists who designed the decoration. "Whether it's the sculpture by Olbram Zoubek or the sculpture by Valér Kováč," he added.

The building is divided into three zones referring to Greek mythology. "The bereaved see themselves in the glass fillings with a bronze tint upon arrival, which symbolizes the world of the living. The hall itself is meant to resemble the river of forgetfulness with the ferryman Charon. Originally, it was planned to have water features on the sides, but due to financial reasons, that was abandoned. Behind the hall was the morgue, which referred to the world of the dead," Kunc described.

Last September, the reconstruction of the area around the funeral hall was completed at the cemetery. A new scattering meadow and columbarium were created during it.