The jewell of Czech history   (www.restauro.cz)

 

No comment… well, the bridge is just a bridge…

 

Charles Bridge reconstrucion: a mockery to Venice Charter.

This photo shows a use of isolation on a concrete plank. (Photo taken from SMP CZ a.s. „News Bulletin“, 5-6/2008, vol VII. See also: www.opravakarlovamostu.cz 

 

„Pneumatic drills are not being used in case of balustrade dismantling. They don´t even touch „newer“ stones, let alone to the old ones“ – Pavel Kameník, spokesman SMP, a.s. (14th October, 09 for Czech TV) 

Constraction joints on the balustrade are strewed with permanent flexible lute.

Little stones were squashed into its surface. No comment…

 

Cement mortar pouring onto historic cuboids.    (www.restauro.cz)

 

Inconveniently choosed type of stone, which has never been used for reconstruction purposes before.      (www.restauro.cz)

 

Construction workers are upstanding chaps. They really don´t put away a cement mortar..     (www.restauro.cz)

 

On the left you can see surface treatment of a cuboid stone; on the right a new cuboid. Corrugations are made in all directions and in very wild rythm without the authentic work taken in a account.       (www.restauro.cz)

 

Stone balustrade after a repair. We would like to point out that such a results usually lead into lay offs.

 

After a repair, commisures usualy crack and mortar crumples. Why so?

 

Would you use different materials while working on joint profiles?

 

Stones are overlaping by couple of inches? In medieval times it was simply impossible… On the left you can see newly bricked up balustrade. The right side is indigenous. This is an example and symbol of an amateurism of current reparation works on Charles Bridge.

 

Quality on first sight.         (www.restauro.cz)

 

Handycraftsmans art. Historical stones are being devastated during reconstruction of a balustrade. These cuboids were part of an arch.

(www.restauro.cz)

 

A rail. On the left there is a new cuboid, on the right the former one. Low quality of pointing is clear.       (www.restauro.cz)

 

Chipped pieces of former cuboids. Let´s daub it with a mortar…

 

Why are you surprised? Former cuboids: firstly damaged and then returned back to balustrade…         (www.restauro.cz)

 

One centimeter of cement mortar used to be enough… Today? At least four are needed.          (www.restauro.cz)

 

Let´s substitude a stone with the mortar…        (www.restauro.cz)

 

 

A rail after reconstruction.

 

It´s a pleasure to see this…       (www.restauro.cz)

 

Cuboids are being changed in unbelievely high number!          (www.restauro.cz) 

 

Mgr. Jan Kněžínek, director of Historical Monuments Department says, that repair works don´t impinge into the historical parts of the bridge. According to National Preservation Institute findings this part was build during medieval times. Mgr. Jan Kněžínek has very original sense of history.        (www.restauro.cz)

 

ČáPart of a balustrade after the reconstruction.                 (www.restauro.cz)

 

Another part of a balustrade, right after the reconstruction.        (www.restauro.cz)

 

During a reconstruction of stone balustrade were former manually-cut-cuboids replaced by industrially produced prefabricated elements. A new „R“ sign is very poor imitation of „historicity“. New stones don´t tie together with the old ones (bottom right).

  

Damaged cuboids taken out of an arch. Then a perfect example of a wrong-doing while patina coating the new stones. They are devastated with a drilled holes – another proof of diletantish repair work.

 

What to say? Viva fuses!

 

Medieval cuboid taken out of a stone balustrade. It was cut in half with a slabbing saw. It is so called „petřínský sandstone“, which was widely used for romance buildings. It is possible, that this very cuboid was formerly used for Judit bridge – the predecessor of Charles Bridge.

 

All together about 30 precent of balustrade stone cuboids – by our opinion all in a good condition – were marked as unappropriate and set aside. Some of them liquidated in a hammer mill, others left in a storage-house. Almost a third of these are in a good condition as well. We are just wondering – who benefits from this „stone swap“ on the balustrade?

 

Pure stonework.

 

 

New stone – kocbeřský sandstone. Its white look doesn´t correspond with the arch and sandstones used back in medieval times.