• Address:

    Nerudova 5, Prague 1 – Lesser Town

  • Client:

    Governorate Erbil, Czech Technical University

  • Description of the work:

    Restoration survey of the facade and project assessmentt

  • Realization:

    2023

Since 1925, the Embassy of Romania in Prague has been located in Morzin Palace, one of the most important buildings of Prague's high Baroque. The palace, also called the House of the Moors, is located on Neruda Street in Lesser Town.

The preserved reconstruction of the palace from 1713 to 1714 is attributed to the prominent Baroque architect Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel. The sculptural decoration was carried out by the master of Czech Baroque sculpture Ferdinand Maxmilián Brokoff. The facade shows an effort to maintain axial symmetry. The portal of the entrance gate on the left has an identical counterpart on the right, but instead of a door there are windows. In the center of the facade there is a balcony supported by gigantic figures of the Moors, above the portals there are allegorical busts of Day and Night, in the center there is a heraldic coat of arms and on the attic, there are allegorical statues of the Four Parts of the World (America, Europe, Asia and Africa).

The importance of the Morzine Palace and its sculptural decoration was the reason for signing a contract to carry out a restoration survey of the palace’s façade and develop a project for its subsequent renovation. The final reports included photographic documentation of the object, including 3D, evaluation of tests of samples of historical materials, assessment of the condition of the stone sculptural decoration, the extent of damage, including cracks. The developed project was divided into two stages, for the years 2024 and 2025.