Zprávy památkové péče 2023, 83(1):54-62 | DOI: 10.56112/zpp.2023.1.04

Aleš Rozehnal: restorer of the Přemyslid Palace in Olomouc in the role of a researcher

Andrea Mrkusová

Muzeum Kroměřížska

The restorer Aleš Rozehnal (1925-1995) is a personality who has made his mark in art historical circles as a restorer working
on the restoration of the Přemyslid Palace in Olomouc, now known as the Palace of Bishop Zdík. He worked on the restoration
from the early 1970s until the monument was opened to the public in 1988. Its main focus was the restoration of the richly decorated Romanesque windows. Rozehnal’s interest in the monument in many ways exceeded the competences and duties of a restorer. He was lively involved in the professional discussion about the function of the building and the question of its ownership. He advocated the theory that it was a princely palace belonging to the Přemyslids of Olomouc. After his death, his estate, kept untouched for more than twenty years in the studio of his colleague, the Olomouc restorer Ladislav Werkmann, now reveals Rozehnal’s extensive research work on this topic, which was not fully known to the professional public. The estate preserves scholarly articles that were never published. This paper aims to present them to the public and to draw attention to the wealth of ideas contained in the material of the restorer’s estate.

Keywords: Aleš Rozehnal (1925–1995); Přemyslid Palace; Zdík Palace; Olomouc; monument renovation; national cultural monument; restoration

Published: November 2, 2023  Show citation