In Česká Lípa, the work on the restoration of the facade of the Art Nouveau café Union has been completed

Publisher
ČTK
25.11.2021 21:05
Czech Republic

Česká Lípa

Česká Lípa – Work on the reconstruction of the facade of the Art Nouveau cafe Union in Česká Lípa has been completed, scaffolding will disappear in a few days, but it is not entirely finished. Only two of the four walls of the building have been repaired. The main facade facing Sokolská Street will not be painted this year; heritage conservationists recommended completing the painting next spring due to the weather, and at the same time, the company will also finish the facade facing the courtyard, said city hall spokeswoman Kristýna Kňákal Brožová to ČTK today. Next year, the city wants to find a contractor to repair the remaining facade facing Jindřich z Lipé Street.


The city hall searched for a company to restore the richly decorated stucco facade of the listed building for four years. In a repeated tender, the company Cor Interiors won with a bid of 2.6 million crowns, and 300,000 crowns for the repair was obtained by the city from the Liberec Region. The facade was supposed to be completed by the end of October and the beginning of November, but the work was prolonged due to greater damage. "The construction is challenging also because stucco work is currently a niche product, and it is problematic to find companies that do it. Due to COVID, the company also struggled with a shortage of employees," added Mayor Jitka Volfová (ANO).

The Union cafe was built between 1906-1907 in the floral Art Nouveau style by the local firm Otto John & Josef Jisba. The project received a gold medal at the first Liberec Fair. The building, with its rich Art Nouveau stucco decoration, stood at the corner of the then Post Office and Long Street at the site of two older houses and the former city gate. Originally, there were shops on the ground floor and the cafe was on the first floor; today, the ground floor serves as a cafe, and the spaces of the original cafe on the first floor are rented out by the city hall for short-term events.

The listed building is among the most beautiful in the city; it underwent reconstruction more than 20 years ago, but it desperately needed a roof and facade repair, into which water was leaking. The upper part of the building even had to be secured with nets to prevent falling pieces of plaster from endangering pedestrians. "This contract was cursed because we tendered for it for four years. Initially, we tendered it together with the roof reconstruction, unsuccessfully. Therefore, it was divided," added the city hall spokesperson. Thus, the roof was done separately, and now the facade. Work on the building has already been ongoing for the third year, and the last part of the facade will probably not be repaired until 2023.
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