MEETING IN PRAGUE On the 23rdMarch, Ian Kennaway, (extreme left, above) the Czech Friends Chairman, attended a meeting in Prague with otherorganisations interested in the future of Czech heritage. The meeting wasarranged by the Foreign Office of the United Kingdom and the International National TrustsOrganisation (INTO). It was chaired by HRH the Prince of Wales (seated, above) andOliver Maurice, the Director of INTO.Theobjectives of the Meeting were: "To strengthen the bilateral relationshipsbetween heritage conservation organisations in the UK and the Czech Republicby developing an innovative new joint education programmeand finalising plans for the first staff exchanges and voluntaryworking holidays with a view to building citizen support and, ultimately,to exploring the feasibility of establishing a Czech NationalTrust"It was avery constructive meeting and the objectives are being followed up.Also in thepicture are (from the right) HE Sian MacLeod, HM Ambassador to the Czech Republic, Josef Stulc, of the National HeritageInstitute and ICOMOS, Vaclav Isak of the Czech Union of Environmental Protectionists.
Restoration of the eighteenth-century Rococo Garden Arbour from the gardens of Český Krumlov
WE ARE DELIGHTED to report that the Friends’ offer of a grant of £1000/ €1100 towards the restoration of the Rococo garden arbour at Český Krumlovacted as a catalyst which enabled the South Bohemian Institute of Historic Monuments to obtain funding of the further £3000/ €3300 needed to complete the restoration.
The restoration of the garden arbour is part of a long-term programme for the restoration of the important castle gardens. The great castle of Český Krumlov was once part of the huge Schwarzenberg estates in South Bohemia. The château gardens were originally laid out in the late seventeenth century as a series of Baroque terraces, which were modified in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many eighteenth-century features survive, such as the charming Garden Arbour, which once stood in the centre of a maze, and is thought to have been a Music Pavilion. It was painted in 1752 with allegories of the Four Seasons by the local court artist, Jacub František Prokyš (1713-91). Prokyš had a fascinating career. Originally a serf, he was recommended to Joseph Adam Eggenberg (1722-82), a lover of the arts, who was responsible for a huge building programme at Český Krumlov. Prokyš was one of the many artists who worked at his court, and was eventually released from serfdom and went on to become a wealthy citizen of České Budějovice.
The restoration of the garden arbour is part of a long-term programme for the restoration of the important castle gardens. The great castle of Český Krumlov was once part of the huge Schwarzenberg estates in South Bohemia. The château gardens were originally laid out in the late seventeenth century as a series of Baroque terraces, which were modified in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many eighteenth-century features survive, such as the charming Garden Arbour, which once stood in the centre of a maze, and is thought to have been a Music Pavilion. It was painted in 1752 with allegories of the Four Seasons by the local court artist, Jacub František Prokyš (1713-91). Prokyš had a fascinating career. Originally a serf, he was recommended to Joseph Adam Eggenberg (1722-82), a lover of the arts, who was responsible for a huge building programme at Český Krumlov. Prokyš was one of the many artists who worked at his court, and was eventually released from serfdom and went on to become a wealthy citizen of České Budějovice.