The Gallery of the Capital City will manage the Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace

Prague - The City Gallery of Prague has received the management of the Colloredo-Mansfeld Palace on Karlova Street on the Royal Route from the municipality. It plans to establish its main headquarters there and showcase Czech modern art. Today, the representatives of the capital city decided on the change of the founding deed. The gallery also received management of the spaces of the so-called Prague House of Photography on Revoluční Street.
The baroque palace in the center of Prague has long been neglected. The monument belongs to the capital city, but it has struggled for several years to find a purpose for it. The search for a tenant was complicated by the poor condition of the building. Its reconstruction is estimated to cost hundreds of millions of crowns and the repair will take several years.
The gallery would like to set up offices and management headquarters in the palace, as well as exhibition spaces for works by Czech painters from the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. Whether it can fulfill its intention will depend on the next city leadership, which will need to allocate funds for the repairs.
The baroque palace, dating from the mid-18th century, had been leased since 1994 to the Polyhymnia foundation. It committed to renovate the monument within ten years. However, eight years ago, the municipality stated that the building was not being maintained and protected from degradation. The city then terminated the contracts and subsequently announced a competition. However, selecting a new tenant proved unsuccessful.
Today, the representatives also entrusted the gallery with the non-residential spaces on Revoluční Street, which are intended for the activities of the Prague House of Photography (Prague House of Photography PHP).
It was established years ago by the capital city and the Ministry of Culture as a charitable organization. For the reconstruction of the building on Revoluční, where a generously conceived institution for the best possible presentation, creation, research, and education in photography was to be established, they gathered 20 million crowns. However, the spaces have not yet been approved. Both institutions have considered withdrawing from the charitable organization due to the delays. The unfinished project has also been accompanied by disputes between photographers and the management of PHP.