The restoration of the Renaissance summer palace in Česká Lípa will cost the Liberec Region 77 million CZK

The renovation of the Renaissance summer palace in Česká Lípa will cost the Liberec Region 77.4 million crowns, with the contract awarded to the construction company CL-Evans from Česká Lípa. Extensive reconstruction is awaiting not only the summer palace known as the Červený dům (Red House), but also two adjacent buildings. A new branch of the Regional Museum and Gallery of Česká Lípa, featuring permanent exhibitions, will be established there. This was announced to journalists today by Governor Martin Půta (Mayors for the Liberec Region).

The chateau is one of the most valuable monuments of its kind in the region, built in the style of Northern Italian Renaissance near the water castle of Lipý by Jiří Jetřich Berka of Dubá in 1583. The current form was acquired during a reconstruction at the end of the 19th century. It is a two-story building with an irregular floor plan adorned with sgraffito and an open loggia. It is not apparent from the outside why the house is called "Red," a name it has held since the 19th century, likely due to the red paint on the loggia.

Historically, the summer palace also served as a dye house, contained rental apartments, and was home to a museum for several years. Until now, people could only admire it from the outside, as it has been inaccessible to the public, opening only on exceptional occasions. However, thanks to funding from the cross-border program Interreg Czech Republic – Saxony, an exhibition dedicated to the Berka family, its first owners who significantly influenced the development of Česká Lípa and the surrounding area of the German town of Bad Schandau, is expected to be created there.

For the project "Landscape and Man – in the Museum Live and Virtually", which connects the Regional Museum and Gallery in Česká Lípa and the Municipal Museum in Bad Schandau, the Liberec Region managed to obtain approximately 42 million crowns from European funds through the Interreg program. By 2028, two new exhibitions focused on Czech-Saxon cultural heritage will be established. The construction work and the establishment of the exhibition in Česká Lípa will cost more than 100 million crowns, and the project also includes adjustments to the surroundings of the water castle, which will be financed by Česká Lípa.

According to Zdeněk Vitáček, the director of the Česká Lípa museum, the new exhibition will also focus on fabric printing and dyeing and will also address hunting and weapons. "We also want to present specialized highly expert museum activities that save and preserve our tangible cultural heritage," he added. In the summer palace and two neighboring buildings, the museum will also have specialized workspaces, a preparation workshop, conservation workshops, a chemistry storage area, and repositories.