In the Klapperoth factory in Šumperk, there will be a textile museum

Šumperk - In the heritage-protected building of the so-called Klapperoth Factory in Šumperk, which was purchased by the town, a digitized museum of textile manufacturing will be established. This week, the council approved the assignment for the preparation of a study worth over 800,000 crowns, which is meant to present the future form of the museum. The creation of the exhibition will be preceded by a demanding reconstruction of the dilapidated building. Costs are estimated in the tens of millions of crowns, said Šumperk Mayor Zdeněk Brož today.

"The intention is approved, there will be a museum of textiles and industrial production in Šumperk and the region. The museum will have an interactive form. There will be interactive workshops for the public, where, for example, children can learn to work with wood or metal. We are not looking for a closed museum; we want the building to live," Brož stated.

According to him, the town decided to commission a study that would show how the museum and the use of this building should look. "This is the first step to knowing what the interior will look like. However, there is a long way ahead. We are currently looking for financial resources to improve the condition of the building, which is in very poor condition. There is wood rot and bad rafters. The first priority will be rescue works. It will involve tens of millions of crowns, and the reconstruction will take several years," said the mayor. He added that the Olomouc region contributed half a million crowns to the town hall for the preservation of the property.

The purchase of the so-called Klapperoth Factory was approved by the city council at the end of last year. The devastated building on General Svobody Street had been sought for purchase by city representatives for many years, driven mainly by the desire to save the heritage-protected house in the center. The building is among the most endangered immovable monuments in the Olomouc region. The factory was ultimately put up for sale after the death of its former owner. The heirs agreed to sell the property to the town for 2.5 million crowns.

The baroque factory from 1730 to 1735 is a reminder of the times when Šumperk was renowned for textile production. In 1786, Viennese wholesaler Johann Ernst Klapperoth founded the first factory for the production of corduroy in the Habsburg monarchy here. In the early 19th century, it produced corduroy, tripp, and plush. Šumperk then became the center of textile production. The factory employed around 200 weavers and one hundred women for cotton preparation at that time. In 1822, a new owner switched to linen production, and six years later, during the crisis of the linen industry in Northern Moravia, the factory ceased to exist, as previously stated by city spokesperson Olga Hajduková.