The long-awaited reconstruction of Prague’s Invalidovna has officially begun.

The Baroque complex in Karlín will undergo a major renovation costing CZK 2.15 billion, with work scheduled for completion in 2030.

The project is the largest investment in the history of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ). Alongside the restoration of the historic building, two new extensions will be constructed on the southern side of the complex.

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One will provide facilities for the Prague Philharmonic Choir, while the other will house technical infrastructure needed to operate the site.

Much of Invalidovna will remain open to the public

Once the reconstruction is complete, the NPÚ will use part of the complex for restoration workshops, laboratories, archives and study rooms.

An underground garage with space for 50 vehicles is also planned.

Around 80 percent of the complex is expected to remain accessible to the public. The restored site will include exhibition and conference spaces, visitor routes through the Baroque interiors, a café and facilities for children’s groups operated by Prague 8.

A new multi-purpose hall in one of the extensions will be suitable for concerts, conferences and other events. The modern section will also contain technical facilities that cannot be accommodated inside the protected historic building.

The courtyard and gardens will be opened through the original entrances.

A Baroque complex with a long military history

Invalidovna was built between 1731 and 1737 based on plans by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, one of the leading architects of the Czech Baroque. The institution provided accommodation and care for war veterans and their families until 1935.

The original complex was designed at a time when European armies were beginning to develop more systematic forms of care for soldiers who had been wounded or disabled in war.

Military campaigns were often accompanied by outbreaks of diseases such as cholera and typhus, which could kill even soldiers whose battlefield injuries were not life-threatening. Separate psychiatric institutions were later established for veterans suffering severe mental trauma after their military service.

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