The repair of part of the Platýz palace is approximately halfway done

Prague - The renovation of a part of the Platýz Palace in the center of Prague is approximately halfway through. Workers have already restored the roof, strengthened the ceilings, and are now continuing with further work inside the historic building. After the reconstruction, there will be apartments instead of offices on three floors, and modern elements will disappear from the entrance hall and staircase, the mayor's deputy Pavel Klega (ODS) informed CTK today.
    The northern wing, which adjoins Uhelný trh and is the oldest part of the palace, has been under repair by workers since last August. The work is expected to finish in the same month this year. Costs will be around 54 million crowns.
    The construction company first removed the original roof, repaired the trusses, and built a new insulated roof with tile covering. Workers strengthened reinforced concrete and wooden beams in the ceilings and poured the floors. They are now erecting partitions and repairing plaster and windows, and working on the engineering network installations. The replacement of the elevator has also begun.
    Some repair plans had to be changed during construction. One of the ceilings had to be secured differently than according to the project so that the work did not interfere with the operations of the kindergarten. "The change in the technology used for the kindergarten fortunately does not significantly impact costs and does not threaten the completion deadline," Klega stated.
    The building will have ten new apartments. Their average size will be about 100 square meters. The municipality anticipates that in the future, renovations of the palace will continue in the spaces of two other staircases.
    The palace was founded in the mid-14th century by a courtier of Charles IV, Prince Friedrich of Burgundy, on the site of three original houses right by the city wall. Baroque elements were introduced to the house by the Šternberks in the 17th century. In 1813, it was purchased by Knight František Daubke, who converted the building into a tenement house. The last modifications were made here by the Slavia Bank between 1938 and 1939.
    In the past, the building housed craft workshops and an inn. From that time comes the owl, which symbolized whether there was a vacancy in the inn or not. People can still see the owl now at the entrance from Národní třída.