Lednice, South Moravia, Sept 7 (CTK) – A 15-metre long chandelier in the Lednice Chateau in the UNESCO-listed Lednice-Valtice complex, which is the longest in the Czech Republic, will be completely restored by the spring of 2016, chateau warden Ivana Holaskova told CTK Monday.
The chandelier, weighing 690 kilos, was dismantled Monday and transported to a restoring workshop in Brno.
The restoration works will cost about one million crowns, Holaskova said.
The Lednice chateau was the main residence of the Liechtenstein noble family in the past. In the mid-19th century, the owners had a brass chandelier cast in the Hollenstein foundry in Vienna. It was installed in the entrance hall of the chateau.
The chandelier with 116 arms hangs on a tackle, illuminating the space on the ground, first and second floors of the chateau. There used to be a candle on each arm originally, while a tackle was also needed to take down the chandelier to light the candles.
The chateau was electrified in 1903 as one of the first buildings in Moravia and candles in the chandelier were replaced with electric bulbs then.
It was reconstructed last time 40 years ago. No one moved it from then until Monday, Holaskova said.
The unique chandelier will be cleaned and the old electric cables will be replaced. Experts will examine it with an X-ray machine to find possible cracks.
The Lednice Chateau is the most visited heritage sight in the Czech Republic. Last year, 377,000 tourists saw it, which was the highest number in history. This year, this record figure is expected to be beaten.
