The Project for 18 million crowns saved valuable artworks in Kroměříž

Over fifty paintings and furniture from the archbishop’s collections were restored by experts at the Kroměříž chateau. Nearly fifteen million on this project donated the EEA (Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland) one extra million added Zlín region and half a million crowns contributed Kroměříž.

Kroměříž chateau’s collections include among the most important collections of art in the European context. "It was an extraordinary feat of restoration, which significantly contributed to the recovery of many of the exhibits," said Ondřej Zatloukal, deputy director of the Olomouc Museum of Art, which manages art collections.

The original project with a total cost of 18.7 million crowns put more modest goals. "It started two years ago and originally comprised 36 paintings and 28 pieces of period furniture from the chateau inventory intended for restoration and acquisition climastable frames, windows with active climate control for displaying extremely valuable works," said project manager Olomouc Archbishopric Štěpán Sittek. Last spring, thanks to financial savings, the project expanded to ten other paintings restorations and the purchase of additional equipment for storage of artworks.

"The realization of restorations of selected paintings and furniture Archbishop chateau in Kroměříž is undoubtedly the most extensive restoration chateau collections over the last few decades," said Archbishop Jan Graubner, who at the closing ceremony of the restoration project received the symbolic keys to the chateau because archbishopric after many years became again its owner.

Managing Kroměříž chateau is a rarity because there work in compliance experts from various institutions. The owner is the Archbishopric of Olomouc, art collections manages Olomouc Museum of Art and the property is an old monument Territorial Administration of the National Heritage Institute Kroměříž. "This symbiosis is a kind of logic, because we all share a love for art," commented collaboration director Kroměříž NHI Jan Slezák.

Norwegian chargé daffaires Vegar Andreassen promised that his country will continue to support similar projects. "We have two aims: firstly, we want to contribute to erasing the economic and social disparities in Europe as well as strengthening Czech-Norwegian relations. And I think we are doing well, "said Andreassen.