The long-delayed reconstruction of the Literature Memorial's headquarters begins

Prague - After years of postponement, the reconstruction of the new headquarters of the Memorial of National Literature (PNP) will begin. Romana Štorková Maliti from the memorial announced this in response to a query from ČTK today. The building in Prague-Bubeneč, which is one of three villas built by the Petschek family, is set to open in 2019. The reconstruction of the future headquarters of the largest Czech museum of book culture will be launched on Friday by Culture Minister Daniel Herman (KDU-ČSL).

After moving into the new headquarters, the memorial will conclude its long-standing presence at Strahov Monastery, where it has been renting since the 1990s. At the same time, the central depository in Litoměřice has been completed, which will replace many current rental depositories.

According to an earlier statement by the director of PNP, Zdeněk Freisleben, funding for the building repairs, as well as for the depository, is expected to come from a fund through which the state compensated its institutions for alternative spaces for properties that were returned in restitution.

PNP was established in the 1950s after the Premonstratensians were forced to leave Strahov Monastery by the communist regime. In 1952, the Memorial of National Culture was founded there, taking over Strahov Monastery along with the collections of its library and the libraries of the monastery. PNP as a museum of Czech literature emerged from it in 1953.

In the early 1990s, the monastery was returned to the order, and the memorial remained in small spaces. Since then, a new location for the institution has been sought. The collections of PNP comprise 2,000 collections with a total of seven million archival items. Thus, PNP preserves more than a tenth of the total number of approximately 65 million collection items recorded in museums and galleries in the Czech Republic.

In 2005, the government decided on the transfer of the Petschek villa, and in 2006, it added the nearby building on Pelléova Street. Both properties were taken over by the PNP management in 2006. The smaller one on Pelléova Street is used for exhibitions, lectures, and literary programs. Both buildings were originally supposed to be opened by 2009 for the needs of the memorial, but work was delayed due to legal disputes, as Prague also claimed rights over the property. The court cases lasted until 2012.

The so-called third Petschek villa on V Sadech Street was built in 1930. After reconstruction, PNP will have an exhibition dedicated to modern Czech literature, which had no space in the rented premises in Strahov.