Massive stained glass windows of Prague’s Industrial Palace undergoing major renovation
Thirteen years after being destroyed by fire, the Industrial Palace at Prague’s Exhibition Grounds is now undergoing an extensive reconstruction. As part of the works, which started about two months ago, restorers have now began to repair the massive stained glass windows of the palace.
The Art Nouveau glass and steel building of the Industrial Palace, designed by the Czech architect Bedřich Münzenberger, first opened to visitors on March 1891 on the occasion of the General State Exhibition held at the newly built Exhibition Grounds in Holešovice.
During the communist era, party congresses were held in the building, and for a while the original St. Wenceslas crown on top of the palace’s tower was even replaced with a Soviet red star.
In October 2008, a fire broke out in the palace, started by an electric stove left on in an exhibitor’s stand, burning down the entire left wing. The heat also destroyed many of the stunning stained glass windows that decorate the palace. This month, restorers started to work on their renovation:
Zdeněk Kudláček from Kolektiv Ateliers is in charge of the renovation. His first job is to remove all of the panes from the steel supporting frame without breaking the fragile glass. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, all he needs is a big hammer:
“I spent two weeks looking for the right technique. In the end I discovered that all I need is a hammer, a big blow and a precise hit. I started on the side destroyed by the fire, where I picked the panes that had already been damaged.
“I have to admit that when I first walked in here and looked around the building, I had no idea where to start and I broke out in sweat. Then I gradually tried what works or, as I say, think with my hands.”
The renovation of the stained glass windows of the Industrial Palace is said to be the largest renovation of historic stained glass in 100 years. The windows have a total area of over 2,200 square meters and restorers have to gradually dismantle all of the more than 5,000 parts.
Workers are also gradually taking down the tower of the Industrial Palace. In the summer, they should bring down its frame and repair it. They are also working on new facilities on the location of the left wing, explains Deputy Mayor Pavel Vyhnánek:
“Construction companies have removed more than a thousand truckloads of soil and another thousand still need to be removed. We have started with the restoration of the historical elements, where a whole series of works await us.”
The renovation of Prague’s Industrial Palace, which also includes building a replica of the destroyed left wing, is estimated to cost some CZK 2,5 billion and should be completed by 2025.
