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Nation's cultural losses mount in flood's wake
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Nationally, the flood swept away parts of the country's cultural heritage.
In Pisek, south Bohemia, the railing, cobbles and a statue from the Czech
Republic's oldest surviving stone bridge -- constructed in the 13th century
-- were swept away by floodwaters. An estimated half a million books in the
nation's libraries were damaged, along with irreplaceable archival documents
and prints.
The National Library in Prague's Klementinum sustained damage to its
electrical and heating systems. Books stored on the upper floors, however,
were untouched.
In the Sarka valley, thieves took advantage of the chaos created by the
flooding and stole six paintings from a private villa, including four by
Alfons Mucha, police said. The value of the paintings was estimated at 5
million Kc ($156,000).
Only two National Gallery buildings in Prague were directly affected by the
flooding -- Anezsky klaster in Old Town, where the collection was moved out
of the first floor, and the basement depository in Prague 5-Zbraslav, which
will need to be cleaned. The Valdstejnska jizdarna, which the National
Gallery also uses, had about 20 centimeters (8 inches) of water in its
basement.
"The collections are completely safe," said National Gallery director Milan
Knizak. Facilities like Veletrzni palac and Sternbersky palac were closed,
he said, but only as a precaution.
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One of the biggest cleanup jobs will be at one of Prague's newest venues --
Museum Kampa. The newly refurbished riverside museum was badly flooded, but
only one piece was lost -- Zidle, a sculpture mounted on the embankment
outside the museum.
"The collection is OK," said Kampa spokeswoman Kacha Kastner, "but the
museum is full of fish."
http://www.praguepost.com/P02/2002/20821/featu1.php
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Barbie Panvel, Archivist and Information Resources Officer
Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education
Southgate House, Southgate Street
Gloucester GL1 1UB
http://www.qaa.ac.uk
Tel: 01452 557090
Fax: 01452 557070
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