At the Castle, the renovation of the Royal Lodge has begun

Prague - The administration of Prague Castle has started the reconstruction of the Royal Summerhouse. It is expected to last just under two years and will cost approximately 100 million crowns. The summerhouse, built in the style of Italian Renaissance, will undergo restoration of the facade, historical interiors, and columned arcades. This was announced today by its director Pavel Vyhnánek and the head of the castle's department for preparation and implementation of construction Barbora Feret.

Preparatory work has begun at the summerhouse, which is a national cultural monument. It will not be open to the public until spring 2028 due to reconstruction. The southern part needs to be structurally secured. A repair or replacement with replicas is planned for the windows and doors, and work will affect the floors, ceilings, and partitions, as well as their layout. Dignified facilities for the custodians are to be created. The exterior of the building will involve elements of the upper and lower balustrades, cornices, and columned arcades, as well as repairs to the plaster.

"We will restore stone, metal, stucco, and carpentry elements including windows, doors, and shutters. We will also restore the wooden coffered ceiling in the upper hall, giving it back its original appearance based on Bonifácio Wohlmut's design," said Vyhnánek. The vaulted ceiling under the roof will be stripped of 20th-century coatings.

According to Feret, the internal lighting will change, and wall fixtures will be added. "We will refurbish the historic chandeliers, which are the centerpiece of the interior," she stated. Restorers discovered original Renaissance plaster through probes, which are to be preserved. Paintings will also be restored.

The administration of Prague Castle announced a competition at the end of last year for the supplier of the heritage restoration with an estimated price of 139 million crowns excluding VAT. "We managed to achieve a significantly lower price. We anticipate an amount around 100 million crowns. Only reality will show how much it will actually be, as is often the case with monuments," said Vyhnánek. The contractor is the company Konsit. According to him, the castle covers most of its investment costs from ticket revenue for guided tours.

After the renovation, the summerhouse is to continue serving exhibitions and chamber events. The building did not operate in winter, and the castle administration wants to maintain its condition.

The Royal Summerhouse, also known as the Summerhouse of Queen Anna or for its beautiful view as Belvedere, was begun by Ferdinand I, the first Habsburg on the Czech throne, for his wife Anna Jagellonská in the 1630s.

The project for this stylistically pure Italian Renaissance building, which is unique north of the Alps, was initially developed by the Italian builder Paolo della Stella. At the king's request, the originally one-story building was elevated to two stories, and the typical roof was added primarily by the German Renaissance builder Bonifácio Wohlmut. This occurred after a pause due to the fire of the cathedral in 1541 and its reconstruction. Queen Anna did not live to see the completion of the summerhouse in 1563. The beloved monarch died in 1547 at the age of 43 after giving birth to her 15th child.

The summerhouse then served as an astronomical observatory. "For some time, Tycho de Brahe worked here and observed the stars," Vyhnánek recalled. Afterwards, artillerymen resided in the summerhouse, and from the mid-19th century it became an art gallery. At that time, a monumental staircase was added, and the author of the later ceiling above it was Josip Plečnik, who also designed the table at the entrance. Another reconstruction in the 1950s was overseen by architect Pavel Janák. The last ones took place between 1988 and 1991 and from 2004 to 2010 and primarily addressed leaks, and in 2012 the roofing, which has the characteristic shape of a ship's keel.