The Silesian Museum in Opava is being reconstructed

Opava - The Silesian Regional Museum in Opava, which is the oldest and largest museum in the Czech Republic, is undergoing reconstruction. The project will require total costs of 108 million crowns and will be completed in spring 2012. At the end of the project, a completely new exhibition dedicated to the history of Silesia will be created in the renovated building. This information was provided to ČTK by the museum's marketing manager Simona Juračková.
    The reason for the extensive repairs was primarily the emergency condition of certain parts of the monument-protected building. "The reconstruction of the building and the creation of a new permanent exhibition that will bring the history, culture, and nature of Silesia closer has been our main goal in recent years," said the manager.
    According to her, the current condition of the building and the way the collections were presented had long not corresponded to the significance of the building or the institution. Damaged waterproofing and insufficient maintenance in previous years caused dampness and salting of the masonry. "The decorative embellishments of the roof and exterior have reached an emergency state, and most of the sculptures have been removed," she added.
    After the construction work is completed, the building will be statically secured, and workers will also focus on the conservation and restoration of the facades and sculptural decorations. Additionally, the spaces intended for public exhibitions will be expanded, and all will also be barrier-free. In total, the repairs will cost around 108 million crowns. More than 90 percent of the amount will be covered by European Union funds. The remainder will be provided by the Ministry of Culture.
    The work has already been ongoing for four months. "So far, the bare masonry in the basement of the building has been exposed. Work has also been done on the installations, and the adjustments to the partitions and excavation work in the exterior have been completed," said the deputy director of the museum Petr Adamec to ČTK. He added that the building will gain a unique system that will prevent dampness in the masonry, potential rising moisture, and protect the walls from frost. "A similar system is used, for example, at Schönbrunn Palace. Thin pipes will run through the surrounding masonry, through which warm water will flow," he explained.
    The Silesian Regional Museum is a funding organization of the Ministry of Culture. It is the oldest public museum in the territory of today's Czech Republic, with a history dating back to 1814. It has 2.4 million objects in its collections, making it the largest museum in the Czech Republic. Currently, it manages six exhibition buildings and areas - besides the historical exhibition building, also the Arboretum Nový Dvůr in Stěbořice, the Memorial of World War II in Hrabyně, the Memorial of Petr Bezruč in Ostrožná street in Opava, the Czechoslovak fortification area in Hlučín - Darkovičky, and the log cabin of Petr Bezruč in Ostravice.