Selection of the company for repairs to Karlštejn is being postponed, the tender has been canceled

Karlštejn - The selection of a company for the repairs of Karlštejn Castle in the Beroun region is once again being delayed, as the tender has been canceled. Heritage conservationists received only one bid in the tender. The contract will be announced again, and the timeline for the project is not threatened, Tomáš Pospíšil from the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) announced in a press release today. The project includes the restoration of the burgrave's office and part of the Imperial Palace, new exhibitions, and a modern visitor center. According to previous information, the estimated value of the contract is 121 million crowns.

Interested parties in the contract for the repairs of Karlštejn could submit their bids until Monday, September 9. "In the required timeline, the contracting authority, NPÚ, received only one bid," Pospíšil stated. "The contracting authority cannot compare the received bid with other potential suppliers in order to declare that it is the most economically advantageous offer on the market. Therefore, referencing the wording of the law, they decided to cancel the tender procedure," he added.

NPÚ will announce the public contract again with revised conditions to attract more companies. When the new tender will be announced, heritage conservationists did not specify. However, according to Pospíšil, the final timeline for the project, considering the conditions for obtaining European funding, is not threatened.

The final deadline of the previous tender procedure for the repairs of Karlštejn was postponed several times due to clarifications of the contract based on inquiries from companies. NPÚ had to provide every explanation or clarification to all applicants and give them time to process the new information. According to previous information from this August, the repairs were expected to start around October this year and end by the end of 2022.

The castle suffers from hidden flaws as well as high visitor traffic. The goal of the repairs is to restore the deteriorating ground floor, basement, and cellar spaces of the Imperial Palace, the arcaded annex, the rock cellar, and the eastern part of the castle's burgrave's office, where a visitor center will be established. Renovation is also planned for the utility garden in the southern courtyard and engineering networks.

The Gothic castle Karlštejn was founded by Charles IV in 1348. It was built as a place for storing royal treasures, primarily collections of holy relics and imperial coronation jewels. It is one of the most visited monuments in the Czech Republic. Last year, nearly 224,000 people visited it.