Hradec Králové presented designs for the fountain for the historical Great Square

Hradec Králové - The Hradec Králové Magistrate presented the competition designs from the architectural and artistic competition for a fountain for the historical Great Square. The public will be able to view the designs in the foyer of the Hradec Králové Gallery of Modern Art until Sunday, February 15. An online petition against the selection of the winning design by sculptor Tomáš Pavlacký and architect Petr Preininger was created last fall, which has been signed by 661 people so far.

The city received 54 designs for the two-round competition. In the final round, the jury selected from five refined designs last November. "People can now view everything in detail," said Adam Záruba, the Deputy Mayor for Urban Planning, Urbanism, and Architecture (Change for Hradec). The exhibition also includes models of the proposed fountains.

The winning design consists of nine differently sized water-overflowing vessels made of ochre-colored high-strength concrete. The surface of the vessels will resemble stone, allowing people to walk among them. One of the vessels is lower, while the others resemble vases. The fountain is intended to reference the modern architecture of Hradec Králové. It is to be located in the Great Square near the former town hall, where fountains have stood in the past.

The city estimated the cost of building the fountain before the competition at up to 25 million crowns excluding VAT. The installation of the fountain will be part of the overall reconstruction of the Great Square that the city is preparing.

Critics argue that the proposed fountain is unsuitable for the historic center due to its materials and industrial appearance. It allegedly represents a violent and insensitive contrast that does not respect the historical continuity of the place. According to the authors of the winning design, criticism is a natural part of public debate, especially when it comes to modern work in a historical context. "However, the arguments on which the petition is based are, from our perspective, vague, some misleading, or completely untrue," stated architect Preininger in a statement for the Denik.cz server.

According to the jury, the winning design sensitively responds to the city’s history while also bringing a contemporary original expression. "The chosen form and architectural detail enter into a natural dialogue with the surrounding architecture and urban landmarks. The design is technically convincing, thought out in detail, and accessible to all visitors thanks to its barrier-free design and interaction with the terrain," Záruba stated. According to him, the work could become a modern symbol of the city.

In the western part of the Great Square, three fountains stood sequentially in the past. The first, called Jiříkova, was built in the second half of the 15th century, and builders adorned it with intricate sculptural decoration. It was replaced in 1782 by a fountain with simple decoration. After its demolition in 1873, an iron fountain stood in the square until 1937. It was supposed to be replaced by a monument to Jan Žižka, which did not happen.