Nco as a modern version of the Charles Bridge, the lion in Litomyl is appreciated

Last year, the city had the wobbly, cracked concrete lion over the stretch replaced by an elegant structure, which in high cadence has collected one award after another.

In January, the lioness received the Building of the Year award in the Pardubice Region, then the Grand Prix architect 2023 award, and finally won the 8th year of the Czech architecture award, which was followed by 241 projects from all over the country. The main prize was won by Luk Ehl, Tom Koumar from the studio Ehl & Koumar Architekti with Ladislav Dvok and Ladislav ak.

First of all, we want to thank the city of Litomyl and other small cities that put a lot of energy into the advancement of architecture in our country, said Luk Ehl at the presentation of the award at the gala gala of the Czech Architecture Award.

The jury was interested in how the lioness immediately became the talk of the town after its opening in December last year. We had a chance to see how many times the draft went up. There were a hundred thousand there, said the mayor of Litomyl, Radomil Kapar.

When the jury for the architecture awards was here, everyone asked how many people used the lion in the five minutes they were here, said the mayor of Litomyl, Daniel Brdl.

The subtle steel structure of the lion is supported by massive piles of exposed reinforced concrete. The fixed hoist pylon is located in the axis of the original staircase and carries its own lion structure. Upstairs is a view of the city, the building is also enlivened by Ivana rmkov’s graphics.

The lion is protected and its mouth is to go down, allowing not only to go down to the historic center, but also to Smetana’s house. The building is complemented by greenery according to the design of architect Mikula Vavn.

A modern version of the Charles Bridge, said the judges

A good bridge is like a good deed in an ungovernable world, an altruistic investment in public space, a way to connect people and cities, designed so that it is pleasant to look at and to enjoy, said the judges when evaluating the works.

The new Litomysl lion is just like that: a completely beautiful synthesis of architecture, engineering and urbanism that connects the two sides of the city, something like a modern version of the Charles Bridge in Prague, they added.

Tens of thousands of Litomyl experts have long been grateful for the enormous support of modern architecture. Here, the mayor Miroslav Brdl started the first revolution, and all his successors continued in office, including the last one, who is his son Daniel. Having its realization here became a prestige for the architects and in its own way also recognized their ability.

On the municipal website there is a list of more than ten successful contemporary architectural works. Among them is, for example, the swimming pool cover by the architect Antonn Novek, commemorating the spit wave, which received the title of Building of the Year 2011. Or the Zmeck brewery reconstructed according to the design of the architect Josef Pleskot, and the answer at Hlubokho rybnek by the architectural firm OVA architects called Oko nad rybnkem.

But there are even two supermarkets among them, which clearly prove to other cities that you don’t just have to deal with unsightly boxes.