Cultural Heritage and Contemporary Art - programme area no. 16

Koleč Endowment Fund

www.zamekkolec.cz

Norges Birokterlag

The “Kolec Castle – Museum of Beekeeping” project consists of the complete reconstruction of the west wing of the castle and the opening of a beekeeping museum. The castle is located in the municipality of Koleč, situated in a tourist region in the western part of Central Bohemia. The Koleč castle is a baroque structure built during the period from 1711-1713 on the site of an original farmhouse and Renaissance fortress and is currently in extremely poor condition. Under the project, a beekeeping museum will be created inside the castle, linking to the rich tradition of beekeeping practised in Koleč and the surrounding area. Part of the exhibition will consist of a classic display presenting visitors with traditional procedures for honey making from a contemporary and historic perspective. An interesting feature of the exhibition will be a 3D cinema, which will appeal to visitors from younger age groups, while the final part of the exhibition will be a display by the project partner, which will present beekeeping from a Norwegian perspective. The Koleč castle is a multi-storey structure with the wings of the castle, together with the chapel, forming a rectangular courtyard which originally connected directly to the farm buildings and brewery. Apart from the castle and its chapel, the site also consists of the remnants of a stone statue of Saint Anne with the Virgin Mary, a courtyard, garden and baroque granary. The project involves the reconstruction of the west wing of the castle, the ground floor of which houses the oldest beamed ceilings, dated using dendrochronological methods to the period from 1609-1642. The project’s key activity will be the building reconstruction, covering all the construction work. Another activity will be the furnishing of the building and the preparation of exhibitions and during this activity the beekeeping museum exhibition will be created in order to prepare the castle for normal operations and to open it to the public. The remaining activities will be project publicity and management, which will take place throughout project implementation.

approximately 626 919 EUR