The Morgenstern family's palace in Brno has a renovated facade

photo: Erik Gabrhel

Brno - Two years after the heritage-protected Bernhard and Samuel Morgenstern Palace changed ownership, it has a repaired facade facing Štefánikova street in Brno. The last thing left to complete is the restoration of the entrance doors. They will return to the site by the end of October, said restorer Radek Ryšánek to ČTK.

According to him, the doors themselves are a distinct architectural feature of the building. "It is a beautiful example of the late eclectic historicism period," Ryšánek stated.

The doors are made of solid oak and weigh around 300 kilograms, which is quite significant. They are also unusually tall and adorned with wrought iron grilles.

The more than one hundred-year-old doors are in remarkably good condition. On both wings, the hinges are attached in such a way that they are mounted on a steel frame. This has prevented any deformation. "I see this solution for the first time," Ryšánek noted. The restoration of the doors will take the restorers about a month. They must use old technologies, such as linseed oil varnish. The doors will return to the site at the end of October. This will largely complete the reconstruction of the building's street facade towards Štefánikova street.

The palace has been a cultural monument since 2009. The building served as the company headquarters for the Morgenstern malt house and later the Moravia brewery, which was one of the largest in Moravia. Samuel Morgenstern was involved in brewing and malting. He rented breweries in Brno-Řečkovice and Královo Pole. He also participated in the establishment of the Moravia brewery, which operated on the site until the economic crisis of the First Republic, when production was halted. The last significant owner and tenant of the building was the Red Cross, and today the palace is empty. Only the remnants of the malt house remain from the adjacent brewery complex.