Roofing Projects

Since the mid-20th century, historicist extensions were added to most parts of Helfštýn Castle, including roofs on towers, bastions and other buildings. In order to protect the masonry, the castle administration attempted to roof over the entire palace.

Discussion about the preservation of the remnants of the Helfštýn palace by roofing over was stirred up by an architectural competition announced in 1996. In addition to a traditional project of a gabled roof with clay tiles, submitted by Edita Vlčková and Alena Vráželová, which the expert committee recognised as the best, there were also heavily historicist studies, even technicist and futuristic.

Attempts at promoting the historicist gabled roof continued until the late 1990s. An important turning point came in 2010 when the Territorial Scientific Committee of the National Heritage Institute in Olomouc defined the conditions under which roofing for the palace would be possible. One of the main conditions was the need to maintain the authentic state of the remnants without disrupting the castle silhouette when seen from afar.