Jirkov repaired Kludský's villa, it will be the residence of the library

Jirkov (Chomutovsko) - The largest investment of the last few decades, the renovation of the Kludský villa, has been completed in Jirkov. For the overall reconstruction of the building, which will house the municipal library, the city obtained a subsidy of 31.5 million crowns from the EU's North-West regional operating program. The city co-financed the project with nearly seven million crowns, which represents about 18 percent of the total costs, said Mayor Radek Štejnar (ČSSD) to reporters today.
    The library will move into the villa, which was owned by the prominent circus family Kludských between the two world wars, within a month. Until now, it has been located in unsuitable premises of the former Horník commercial and cultural center.
    "The library is currently closed, the first readers will be welcomed in the villa by its staff on June 1. They can look forward to a reading room and a lecture hall. Due to the enormous number of books, we asked people to borrow more titles during the one-month break, which will lighten our workload," said Bedřich Fryč, director of the Jirkov Cultural, Educational and Informational Facility.
    The contract for the reconstruction of the villa and its surroundings was awarded to the Construction and Trade Company Most, with work commencing last March. It also included repairs to the neighboring building, including the caretaker's apartment, the construction of an elevator for the disabled, and garden modifications.
    "The garden includes a gazebo shaped like a circus ring and children's playgrounds. The garden is planned to host performances by musicians and actors, as well as other cultural and social events. In the garden gazebo, library visitors will also be able to read, and the children's playgrounds will be decorated to recall the circus past of the area. A caretaker will take care of them and lock them up at night," Fryč added.
    The villa was previously used by the non-profit organization Archa 777, which operated a parent center there. The new premises have been secured at the central square of Dr. E. Beneš.
    The two-story Kludský villa was built in the 1890s as a neo-Renaissance representative residential villa with a spacious garden. After 1948, the house was confiscated from its owners and gradually converted for various purposes.