Hradec Králové has a restored Art Nouveau building by architect Kotěra

Hradec Králové - The former District House in Hradec Králové, which is one of the most significant monuments of Czech Art Nouveau architecture, has undergone a complete renovation after years of deterioration. The building from 1904, designed by the founder of modern Czech architecture, Jan Kotěra, has been renovated over the last two years into a restaurant and hotel by Grandezza Hotels, owned by the Liberec entrepreneur Michalis Dzikos.
    The ground floor of the building will again feature a restaurant, while three above-ground floors will house a hotel with 40 beds, architect of the renovation Ondřej Kukrál told reporters today. The building, which should evoke the atmosphere of Kotěra's time, is expected to open to the public in the second half of June. The costs of the renovation have not been disclosed.
    During the communist regime, the building belonged to the Hradec enterprise Restaurants and Canteens, which decided to renovate it along with the neighboring Grand Hotel at the end of the 1980s. The equipment was already vacated from the building, but further work was interrupted by the November revolution and restitution. The building then changed owners several times and fell into disrepair.
    "The new owner, Michalis Dzikos, decided to turn this exceptional building back into a hotel facility," Kukrál said. He sought elements of the original furnishings from various places. The original chandelier and facade were reconstructed based on preserved photographs. The wrought-iron gate, which had been stored in the Hradec Museum, also returned to its place.
    According to Zdena Lenderová from the Museum of Eastern Bohemia, the District House was the first large commission for the then about thirty-year-old Kotěra. "The restaurant was magnificent for its time. Prague could not boast of a similar one at that time because the Municipal House was built later," Lenderová said. Kotěra also designed the well-known museum building in Hradec Králové in the Art Nouveau style.
    Renovations are also taking place in two neighboring buildings that once formed the complex of the well-known Hradec Grand Hotel. These should accommodate dining facilities, a hotel, and spaces for housing and administration.