The repair of the Bono Publico staircase in Hradec Králové is coming to an end

Hradec Králové - The Covered Stairway Bono Publico in the historical center of Hradec Králové could once again start serving the public at the end of August. The Empire-style building from 1810, which is listed as a cultural monument, is out of operation due to renovations. Most of the construction work is already completed, said city hall spokesperson Kateřina Šmídová today. The costs of the repairs, including project documentation, are 24.5 million crowns.

"Installation of stair treads, sandstone paving on the landings, railings, electrical installations, plumbing works, window replacements, and repairs of the northern and southern portals are ongoing. We still have to install a camera system, sound system, finish the exterior plastering and painting, make landscape and gardening adjustments, and a lot of minor work that is not very visible," Šmídová stated. According to her, the city hall will further specify the opening date of the stairway. From the installation of a camera system connected to the municipal police, the city hopes that the stairway will no longer be a target for vandals.

The Bono Publico stairway, which has 70 steps, is characterized by three towers built above three rest areas. Originally, it connected the town with the then barracks of the Hradec fortress. It forms a busy link between the old town and the complex of secondary and higher education schools. Currently, pedestrians can use the nearby stairway at the former brewery or Gočár's stairway, which is about 150 meters away in the opposite direction toward the health school, to travel from the Fortna intersection to the Velké náměstí.

The reconstruction of the monument began two years ago in the autumn. The builders treated the masonry of the stairway with desalination plasters and installed a special technology against rising water from the substrate, called electroosmosis. The second phase of the repairs began last August, and the work was interrupted for winter, but the stairway was not opened. Work has resumed again since spring.

"In April, work on Bono Publico began, which is the continuation of the second phase after the forced winter break. Most of the construction work, such as insulation, additional walls, drainage system, and plasters, is complete or being finalized," Šmídová noted. The first phase of repairs cost 2.4 million crowns, the second 21 million, and project documentation 1.14 million crowns.

An archaeological survey was also conducted in connection with the repair of the Bono Publico stairway, which yielded a number of valuable finds. Hradec archaeologists discovered, for example, a part of a prehistoric rampart that served as fortification. It contained shards of pottery as well as flint tools that are 3,300 to 5,500 years old.

In younger layers, they also found fragments of kitchen and table ceramics, parts of various tools, jewelry, or clothing decorations that date back to the Renaissance, specifically to the 16th and 17th centuries. They also uncovered a layer from the 10th to 12th century that remained after the fire of the wooden-earthen rampart of the Slavic fortification.