Historical depiction of Prague's Old Town Square may serve as template for revitalisation

Prague, Feb 9 (CTK) - A recently uncovered painting depicting Prague's Old Town Square before its large reconstruction at the end of the 18th century may influence the planned revitalisation of the square, the daily Hospodarske noviny (HN) writes yesterday.

Amateur researcher Jan Sammer found the old painting called "A View of the Old Town Square" by Ludvik Kohl (1746-1821), probably from the early 19th century, in a German gallery in Regensburg, Bavaria, HN says.

So far art historians had no idea that the original of the painting existed. They have known it from low-quality copies only.

Its rediscovery enables to find out how the Old Town Hall looked like, for instance, Milan Sykora, head of the Prague City Hall's heritage support section, told HN.

Sammer informed the City Hall' employees about this painting along with another work by Kohl being in the collection of the Regensburg gallery.

"I uncovered them after five years (of search) thanks to a German book containing a list of all artifacts in local galleries," Sammer told HN.

The value of the paintings is estimated at up to one million crowns for each, Sarka Leubnerova, from the Czech National Gallery, said.

However, the Prague City Hall is not considering acquiring the works, HN notes.

Both paintings are now owned by the German state but it is not certain how they came to Bavaria.

"A gallery in Munich bought them in 1962 and 1963 from a private collection. We got them in the early 1970s," Regensburg gallery director Gerhard Leistner told HN.

The origin and history of the paintings are largely unknown, HN writes.

The Prague City Hall is now preparing an architectonic contest for the reconstruction of the Old Town Square.

HN says Kohl's painting might be an interesting source of inspiration for the architects who will take part in the contest and draft the revitalisation of the whole area in its original spirit.

However, they will have to obtain high-quality photocopies of the painting or travel to Bavaria to see the original, HN writes.