The construction phase of the KRNAP visitor center project is coming to an end, and the building of the exhibitions will begin

Vrchlabí – The project of the visitor center of the Krkonošsko National Park (KRNAP), which is being developed in the former monastery in Vrchlabí, is halfway completed. The construction part should be finished at the beginning of next year, followed by the building of exhibitions. Radek Drahný, spokesman for KRNAP Administration, said this today to ČTK. The main visitor center of the national park will be named the Krkonoš Museum and its opening is planned for May 2023. The Vrchlabí monastery is the headquarters of the Krkonoš Museum of the KRNAP Administration.

"The construction company is finishing up construction work, currently mainly focusing on the finishing touches of the interiors. Work is being done on the completions, finishing electrical wiring, air technology, heating. Clean surfaces are being finalized," Drahný told ČTK.

Part of the reconstruction of the former monastery includes a new entrance to the future exhibitions. It has the form of a rock and allows for the essence of the structure of the monastery building to be preserved. The architectural aspect of the monastery's reconstruction was ensured by Professor Roman Koucký and Šárka Malá from the company koucky-arch.cz. The architects designed a new layout, with the main entrance to the exhibitions facing the city and connecting to the parking lot. The new entrance has already been completed.

"The work is proceeding according to the adjusted schedule, the construction part should be completed by the end of January 2022. We are finalizing the individual public procurement assignments for the exhibition part, some competitions have already been announced. In the first months of next year, the implementation phase of the exhibitions will begin," Drahný said.

The building of the former monastery has been inaccessible to the public since the autumn of 2017, and the construction part of the project started last February. The construction work is being provided by Metrostav, which won the contract with a price of 109.5 million crowns excluding VAT. The total costs, including the construction of the exhibition, are estimated to exceed 200 million crowns. European grants are expected to cover more than 80 percent of eligible costs.

The renovated monastery with a new interactive exhibition will serve as a representative gateway to the Krkonoš. The new visitor center of the KRNAP will replace the popular exhibitions "Stone and Life" and "Man and Mountains." An exhibition documenting the story of the Krkonoš will be created, taking into account the unique nature and coexistence of nature and man.