Charles Bridge, Prague’s most famous landmark, which last year celebrated its 650th anniversary, has been undergoing a major reconstruction since August. The Czech Culture Ministry’s heritage inspection team has now come to a shocking conclusion: the ongoing repairs have done the bridge more harm than good. The report, published on the ministry’s website, claims that the reconstruction has allegedly harmed the aesthetic and artistic value of the bridge.
Charles Bridge, photo: CTK
Charles Bridge was last repaired in the second half of the 20th century and since then people, floods as well as excessive use of salt to melt the snow in the winter months have all left their mark. Extensive reconstruction work on it started this summer and its first phase is scheduled to be completed in 2010. Workers have been laying a new insulation, stabilizing pillars and replacing damaged sandstone ashlars along the entire bridge. It is the replacement of the stone blocks that has proven to be one of the main problems in the reconstruction. Jiří Varhaník from the Culture Ministry:
“The harm that was done could be divided into two areas. Some of the mistakes were made in the stage of preparation. Other damage, which is more visible, was done during the reconstruction itself and it concerns the replacement of sandstone ashlars in the side walls of the bridge. The stone blocks were machine carved, they don’t have the right size and they don’t correspond with the original ones.”
Photo: CTK
Given the gravity of the inspection team’s report, the most important question is whether the harm can be undone. Jiří Varhaník again:
“It depends. Certain damages are irreparable, because some of the original ashlars that were replaced are gone. But of course some of the stone blocks can be chiselled again and re-laid. That, however, is a subject for future debates.”
Photo: CTK
The inspection’s findings have sparked a major row over Prague’s most famous historic landmark. Prague City Hall has issued a statement saying that it strongly disagrees with the ministry’s conclusions, and that the reconstruction of Charles Bridge had been planned in great detail under the supervision of several expert commissions and was being fully adhered to. City Hall is expected to post a response to the criticism made on its web page within 48 hours. Either way, it seems that more experts will have to be called in to ascertain the quality of the reconstruction work and alleviate the concerns that the Culture Ministry’s report has raised.
