The restoration of the stained glass in the Industrial Palace at the Exhibition Grounds in Prague has begun

Prague - Restoration work has begun on the stained glass windows and other historical elements in the Industrial Palace at Výstaviště in Prague 7, which is currently being renovated. Conservators from the Kolektiv Ateliers company will, among other things, dismantle all 5,023 glass pieces that make up the stained glass in the main hall of the palace. This was announced to journalists today by Deputy Mayor Pavel Vyhnánek (Prague Sobě) and the chairman of the board of directors of the consortium of companies renovating the Industrial Palace, Karel Volf from Metrostav DIZ. The reconstruction of the Industrial Palace, which is expected to cost around 2.5 billion crowns, is one of the largest investments of the Prague City Hall in this electoral term.

"In terms of scale, this (the renovation of the historical stained glass windows in the Industrial Palace) cannot be compared to the contract (the renovation of historical stained glass) in the last 100 years," said Zdeněk Kudláček from Kolektiv Ateliers, who is in charge of the stained glass restoration.

The stained glass, which has a total area of 2,256 square meters, consists of 107,700 individual colored glass pieces set in a lead frame. All individual pieces of glass must be removed, cleaned, and placed into new lead profiles, according to the conservators. Damaged original glass, especially where the stained glass touched the burned-out wing, will be replaced with new pieces, Kudláček added. "The fire caused the steel structure to heat up, and the heat caused nearly all the glass (on the western wall of the central pavilion) to crack," he outlined.

The completion of the burned-out left wing and the renovation of the right wing and central pavilion is expected to cost 2.5 billion crowns, according to the deputy. The work carried out by the consortium of companies Metrostav, Avers, and Syner is expected to be completed by 2025, according to current estimates. The completion of the burned-out wing of the Industrial Palace, which was affected by a fire in 2008, and the reconstruction of this landmark at Výstaviště began this February. The construction companies will build a replica of the burned-out wing, which will, however, be equipped internally with modern technologies, such as air conditioning and so-called shading technologies.

The palace was built for the Jubilee Land Exhibition in 1891 according to the design by architect Bedřich Munzberger. Since its inception, it has been used for hosting exhibitions and other cultural events, although it was originally intended to be a temporary structure. From 1952 to 1954, the communist government decided to change its function and had the main hall of the palace converted into a social and dance hall. Its name was also changed to Congress Palace, which was part of the then Park of Culture and Leisure of Julius Fučík.