After more than a year of hard work, the reconstruction of the Historical Exhibition Building of the Silesian Museum, located in the very centre of Opava, was begun on Friday 17 December 2010. The renovation and restoration of this cultural monument is the first part of the project known as The Silesian Museum – Silesia Exhibition, which is financed from a grant of the Moravia-Silesia Regional Operational Programme. The next stage of the project will be the setting-up of the Silesia exhibition and the creation of a comfortable environment with a number of extra services for visitors. The total budget of the project is 108 million crowns, with 92.5 percent of this sum being provided from European funds and the remaining 7.5 percent coming from the budget of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, which is the organiser of the Silesian Museum. The building is expected to open to the public in spring 2012.
The renovation of the building and creation of a new, permanent exhibition on the history and culture of and nature in Silesia, utilising the museum’s rich collection in connection with modern technology is one of the key points of the medium-term concept devised by the new management of the Silesian Museum. For a long time neither the current state of the building nor the presentation of the museum’s collections had been worthy of the significance of the building or the institution. Damaged water insulation and inadequate maintenance in previous years had caused dampness and salination of walls, and sculptures on the roof and exterior have deteriorated to such an extent that they have had to be removed due to the danger of them falling. Most recently, six allegorical terracotta statues of the arts and crafts had to be removed in August 2009. Plaster and other exterior structural elements, due to which the building is a protected monument, are also in a catastrophic state.
Apart from the static securing of the building and the construction of completely new piping systems, the construction stage of the project shall focus on the conservation and restoration of the facades and decorative statues, including the creation of copies of Pegasus statues which have been removed, the repair and expansion of areas for the new exhibition, construction of visitor facilities and the creation of disabled access to all areas of the building open to the public. The preparation of the exhibition and the fitting of the museum interior shall continue this.
Project documentation for the renovation and permanent exhibition has been produced by the Kubinová + partneři project planning office. Following a tendering process, the chief supplier for the construction stage shall be OKDC mont, s.r.o.
Visitors will see changes in every corner of the museum. For the first time, they will get access to the cellars of the building, where will be located the Nature in Silesia exhibition. Apart from the usual museum displays, the museum will also include an aquarium with live animals. These areas of the museum will include a lecture theatre, which will be available to school groups, as well as for lectures and cultural events organised by the museum. The cellars will also contain facilities for families with children, a mother & baby corner and a store for prams and bicycles.
The central part of the foyer shall contain the cash desk and museum shop, not far from which will be the children’s museum, which shall be visually connected to the On the Wings of Thought exhibition by means of a glass wall. This exhibition shall present the cultural, historical and intellectual history of Silesia from the end of the 18th century to the Second World War. Opposite the children’s museum will be a rest corner and refreshments stand.
The 1st floor shall contain the Encyclopaedia of Silesia, which shall use keywords to cross-reference natural, historical and cultural aspects of Silesia. The U-shaped tour route will be expanded to include a gallery of exhibits on suspended metal frames and supplemented by a tour of the exhibition and offering the visitor a different ‘perspective’ on the varying meanings of the word. Visitors with limited mobility will be have access to this new level too with the aid of a lift.
“I consider our success in the tender for a grant from the Moravia-Silesia ROP to be an exceptional success, which we could not have achieved without the exceptional efforts and refreshing inventiveness of the project team and other colleagues. For the Silesian Museum, which since 2009 has been able to gradually revitalise and transform itself into a friendly, modern institution, the renovation of the Historical Exhibition Building and setting-up of a regional exhibition on Silesia is a major milestone. Thanks to success of the project team, our curators have gained an exceptional opportunity to showcase their abilities to the public, as to participate in the creation of a permanent exhibition is a fantastic experience for every professional curator – you could almost say the highlight of their career. I am sure that we will put together an exhibition that will enrich not only the cultural scene in Opava and Silesia, but in its significance reach out to a wider range of people.
The Silesian Museum is going through a crucial period that will require an exceptional level of application from all employees – we will gradually remove the worst damage, prepare basic investment, modernise our work with the public and, last but not least, improve the level of care taken with our collections. In the last few months alone we have eliminated serious damage to premises in the centre of Opava, where we received a considerable amount of assistance from the city council, the acquisition of funds for the renovation of the aforementioned Old Exhibition Building, repairs to the Petr Bezruč Memorial and the Razumovský Palace, the opening of the A Time of Destruction and Hope exhibition in the Second World War Memorial, which we were able to realise only through exceptional effort, or the opening of a zoo corner and small greenhouse exhibition in the Nový Dvůr Arboretum,” says Antonín Šimčík, Director of the Silesian Museum.
About the building
The Historical Exhibition Building is one of the six exhibition premises of the Silesian Museum. It is a standalone Neo-Renaissance building, built for the purposes of the Museum of Art and Crafts and the Chamber of Commerce and Crafts. The building was designed by the Viennese architects Johann Scheiringer and Franz Kachler and is nearly square-shaped, with a front facade facing Komenského street and a richly-decorated frontal facade facing the municipal park. The statues decorating the frontal facade are the work of the Viennese sculptor Karl Schwerzek.
The area in front of this impressive, standalone urban structure is elegantly landscaped, with a traditional-style water feature.
This monumental building, whose appearance was inspired by the architecture of the late Renaissance, was seriously damaged during the Second World War, including the destruction of the cupola, which was reconstructed in 1984. The Historical Exhibition Building was declared a cultural monument in 1985.
The current renovation work forms part of a project financed from funds of the Moravia-Silesia Regional Operational Programme. The project has also received funding from the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. The building is expected to open to the public in spring 2012.
About the museum
The Silesian Museum is a contributory organisation of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. It is the oldest public museum on the territory of the current Czech Republic, with a history stretching back to 1814. With its 2,400,000 exhibition items, it is, at the same time, the third biggest museum in the country.
The Silesian Museum currently administers six exhibition buildings and complexes: apart from the Historical Exhibition Building in Opava city centre, there is the Nový Dvůr Arboretum in Stěbořice, the Second World War Memorial in Hrabyně, the Petr Bezruč Memorial in Ostrožná street in Opava, the Hlučín-Darkovičky Czechoslovak Fortification Complex and the Petr Bezruč Chalet in Ostravice.
Renovation of the Old Exhibition Building continues with replacement of ceilings and restoration of decorative sculptures
Work on the renovation of the Historical Exhibition Building in the centre of Opava has now been ongoing for more than four months. This work forms part of the Silesian Museum – Silesia Exhibition project, which is financed by the Moravia-Silesia Regional Operational Programme. While some changes are visible from outside, the majority of work has so far focused on the building’s interior.
Petr Adamec, the Silesian Museum’s Deputy Director for Investment, sums up progress:“So far we have uncovered the coarse wall cladding in the basement, which has until now been off-limits to visitors. The Nature in Silesia exhibition will be here once the renovation work’s finished. Work has also been done on piping and we have completed repairs to dividing walls and digging work on the exterior. We are currently installing a special heating system; thin pipes are being laid around the perimeter walls. This is not a traditional heating system; warm water will flow through the pipes in order to prevent dampening of the walls, the absorption of moisture and to protect the walls against frost. A similar system is used, for example, for Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.”
At the same time, work has also begun on the windows, roof coverings have been replaced, and the main staircase at the museum entrance has also been reworked. One unpleasant surprise was the discovery of dry rot during an inspection of the ceiling in exhibition areas of the ground floor. “If it wasn’t for the general renovation work, we wouldn’t know about this threat to the Historical Exhibition Building. The ceiling beams are infested with one of the greatest and most dangerous threats to historical buildings – dry rot. This fungus destroys wood and literally rots wooden structures in buildings. It is a frequent cause of static problems in a number of historic monuments. Dry rot got into the ends of ceiling beams in the ground floor. Now that we know about the beams affected, we can prevent any further spread of the rot, saving the Historical Exhibition Building for future generations,” says Museum Director Antonín Šimčík, describing the situation.
The fungus probably got into the beams due to water dripping into the roof, a situation caused by a years of inadequate maintenance of the building. Water is crucial to the existence of dry rot, and some specialists state that, if it does not have sufficient water, it can extend its fibres for distances of up to thirty metres. “Damaged beams must be removed, because, even if they are kept dry, one can never be sure that spores will stay inactive. Dry rot can stay dormant for several years and we’d be leaving our successors a ticking time-bomb,” adds Šimčík, who is also a conservationist and restoration expert.
A decision was taken, in cooperation with the project team, conservationists and the general contractor, on the means of removing affected wooden elements. At a the same time, a debate went on about the best means of ensuring the static stability of the building so that its essential historical substance was preserved. Fortunately, the structure concerned is not an original, historical ceiling, but originated in the mid-20th century, meaning that the building will suffer no loss from a conservation point of view. Furthermore, all modifications will be carried in such a way that visitors will not notice any difference.
The restoration experts have also turned their attention to the Pegasus statues that were removed from the museum building for safety reasons in the mid-1990s. The statues will not, however, be restored to their original positions, but will be displayed in a planned lapidarium. Instead, exact copies of the statues will be installed on the building itself. The restoration of the facade and the statues located there, heavily damaged in the past, has also begun. The facade as a whole shall also undergo a complex conservation and renovation process, as this is the most valuable part of the Historical Exhibition Building.
First phase of renovation of Historical Exhibition Building of Silesian Museum nearly finished
The renovation of the Historical Exhibition Building in the centre of Opava has now been ongoing for eight months. This period has seen the restoration of a significant part of the museum interior – the installation of electrical cabling has been completed, ceiling beams have been repaired and a special heating system, intended to prevent the dampening of walls, has also been installed. Building will now focus on the exterior, with paintwork to the facade and repairs to the main exterior staircase being carried out. Work should be finished in October of this year. However, work will immediately begin on the second phase – the fitting-out of the interior and preparation of the exhibition.
“In the more than six months since building work commenced, we have seen many important changes to the Historical Exhibition Building. Not only have we eliminated a number of historical structural problems, we have also modified the interior spaces so as to significantly improve the usability of the building and visitor comfort. Preparations for the new regional exhibition on Silesia, which is the goal of this renovation work, are not, however, related only to work being carried out by the technicians, contractors and Office for the Moravia-Silesia Regional Council, which provided a subsidy for the work, but is also closely linked to the intensive work being carried out by taxidermists, curators and restoration experts of the Silesian Museum, who have been working hard to prepare dozens of exhibits, texts and other accompanying material relating to nature in and the cultural history of Silesia,” says Antonín Šimčík, Director of the Silesian Museum, describing progress thus far.
During renovation work, for example, the Museum was able to resolve the issue of dry rot, which had attacked the wooden ceiling of the Old Exhibition Building. Workers removed damaged ceiling beams and also had to remove sections of wall also affected by dry rot. The new ceiling is made of reinforced concrete mean that there is no longer any risk of dry rot developing.
Renovation work had to respect decisions made by conservation specialists, who are providing expert supervision, such as, for example, guidelines on the height of railings. “During renovation of the floor area we respected the original design and laid an entirely new terrazzo covering, like the one that was originally in place in the building. Laying a terrazzo covering is not a simple affair. Craftsmen must work in three phases. The first phase involves work on the rough structure of the floor, then they lay individual coloured layers, following which the entire surface must be thoroughly polished. In order to satisfy safety standards, for example, the first-floor railings had to be suitably extended,” adds Petr Adamec, Deputy Director of Investment of the Silesian Museum. The renovation of the building thus combines the use of original historical technology with contemporary safety features. The inclusion of disabled access to all areas open to the public will be a further enhancement of the visitor experience.
The method used to restore the museum windows is also worthy of note. As the new exhibition was not designed with natural light, which would damage exhibits, in mind, the outer part of the windows will be filled with glass, while the inner parts will be covered with opaque, insulating plates preventing natural light getting into the interior. These plates will also provide heat insulation.
During the renovation process the restoration team, led by Tomáš Skalík, took charge of the Pegasus statues, which had to be removed from the roof of the museum for safety reasons in the mid-1990s. “Now, after fifteen years, we are able to place lighter replicas of the statues on the roof. The originals will be stored in the depositary of the Silesian Museum and visitors will not be able to see them until the opening of the planned lapidarium,” adds Ivan Berger, Deputy Director of Museology of the Silesian Museum. Also making their return to the Historical Exhibition Building are the original, allegorical terracotta statues of Trade, Science and Art. These valuable statues were removed from the building in 2009 as their was a risk of the statues collapsing and causing harm to passers-by due to their poor condition.
Valuable Pegasus statues return to roof of Historical Exhibition Building
After a wait of more than 15 years, the imposing Pegasus statues, the work of Viennese sculptor Theodor Friedl, are returning to the pillars on the frontal facade of the Historical Exhibition Building of the Silesian Museum. The Museum’s new management has, however, achieved this and lighter replicas of the valuable statues were placed on the building on 12 September 2011.
Restoration experts took charge of the Pegasus statues as early as the mid-1990s, when they were removed from the facade of the museum building for safety reasons. Since then, for example, issues with the company tasked with the restoration of the Pegasus statues have been resolved. The Director of the Silesian Museum, Antonín Šimčík, was able to not only settle disputes, but also acquire a grant and re-initiate the renovation of not only this valuable set of statues, but also the Historical Exhibition Building as a whole. “We have been able to meet the expectations of the public and save these long-absent statues. The restoration team created an exact replica of the original set of statues, which will continue to decorate the Historical Exhibition Building for years to come,” adds Šimčík.
The restoration team, led by Tomáš Skalík, started work on the Pegasus statues in February of this year. “Within three months we had restored the original statues, which were in a terrible state. At the beginning of March we started work on exact replicas of the Pegasus statues, which are made out of epoxide laminate with a non-rusting internal structure,” says restoration expert Tomáš Skalík.
The installation of the Pegasus statues on the roof of the Historical Exhibition Building took place on the morning of 12 September 2011. The originals were placed in the depositary of the Silesian Museum and visitors will be able to see them only after the opening of the planned lapidarium. The Historical Exhibition Building will also see the return of the original, allegorical terracotta statues of Trade, Science and Art, which were removed from the building in 2009 as their was a risk of the statues collapsing and causing harm to passers-by due to their poor condition.
The restoration of the statues forms part of the overall renovation of the Historical Exhibition Building of the Silesian Museum, which began at the end of 2010. Restoration work, which took more than eight months, saw the replacement of a major part of the interior fittings, with the completion of electric cabling, repairs to ceiling beams and the installation of a special heating system to prevent the dampening of the walls. Building work is now focusing on the exterior, with painting work on the facade and repairs to the main exterior staircase. Work should be completed in October of this year, and work will immediately begin on the second phase – the fitting-out of the interior and preparation of the exhibition.
Preparations for new Silesia exhibition in Historical Exhibition Building nearly complete
The Historical Exhibition Building of the Silesian Museum will soon open its doors to the public. As well as the beautiful exterior of the building and the Pegasus statues, which are already visible to all, visitors will also be able to see the new, dynamic exhibition on Silesia, which will open to the public in the second half of May.
The Historical Exhibition Building of the Silesian Museum closed to the public at the end of 2010. Over the course following year general renovation work was carried out on this imposing late-19th century monument. Renovation work included, for example, the installation of new electric cabling, and a special heating system, designed to prevent dampening of the walls, as well as the laying of terrazzo floor covering. The facade of the building was also repaired. September of last year also saw the return to the Historical Exhibition Building of the long-absent Pegasus statues.
The Silesia exhibition focuses on nature in and the culture and history of Silesia in what is currently the smallest land of the Czech Republic – Silesia. “A key characteristic of the Silesia exhibition is its dynamism. This applies to all parts of the exhibition. The chosen concept, as opposed to a static concept, allows us to continually maintain the attractiveness of the display for visitors due to the highly flexible changing of individual exhibits or entire themes. At the same time, it means we reduce the risk of damage to our unique items,” says Antonín Šimčík, Director of the Silesian Museum.
The exhibition as a whole is divided into four main sections. “The exhibition takes up all three floors of the Old Exhibition Building of the Silesian Museum. For the first time ever the cellar areas will be open to the public. Visitors can look forward to, for example, archaeological items which have never before been put on display,” says Jiří Šíl, curator of the historical subcollection and coordinator of the sociological section of the exhibition. The first section of the exhibition is entitled Nature in Silesia and has the primary goal of depicting nature in Silesia, as well as unavoidable references to other areas in Europe and the world, in a way that is systematic, while being comprehensible to visitors. The second section – On the Wings of Thought – relates the period from the end of the 18th century until the First World War in the history of modern-day Czech Silesia as a period marked by a notable blending of the intellectual, rational and emotional life of society. The third section is entitled The Encyclopaedia of Silesia and takes a kaleidoscopic, selected and thematic look at Czech Silesia from prehistory to the beginning of the 20th century, with some essential jumps beyond this timeframe, up to the present day. The closing section, entitled The History of Silesia, is devoted a brief account of the history of historic Silesia as a whole, i.e. not only its Czech part.
The Historical Exhibition Building is one of the six exhibition premises of the Silesian Museum. It is a standalone Neo-Renaissance building, built for the purposes of the Emperor Franz Josef Museum of Art and Crafts and founded in Opava in 1882 on the instigation of the Chamber of Commerce and Crafts, which also financed the construction of the building. The building was built between 1893-95 according to a design by the Viennese architects Johann Scheiringer and Franz Kachler and is nearly square-shaped, with a front facade facing Komenského street and a richly-decorated frontal facade facing the municipal park. The statue of ‘Genius’ and Pegasus statues decorating the copula are the work of the Viennese sculptor Theodor Friedel.
The building sustained serious bomb damage in the spring of 1945. The subsequent renovation process took ten years and resulted in a more modern interior design, while respecting the facade and original layout of the museum. The Historical Exhibition Building was declared a cultural monument in 1985.
The renovation and restoration of the historical elements of the building and the building of a new regional exhibition form part of the project entitled The Silesian Museum – Silesia Exhibition, which is financed through a grant from the Moravia-Silesia Regional Operational Programme, with the remaining funds being provided from the budget of the organiser of the Museum, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. The total budget for renovation is 108 million crowns.
The formal opening of the Historical Exhibition Building and the Silesia exhibition shall take place in the park adjacent to the Museum at 2 p.m. on Saturday 19 May 2012.
Article last updated: 10.06.2013
Print whole article
