The reconstruction of Krásna Hôrka Castle, which was devastated by fire at the weekend, will be paid for partly by an insurance contract covering the protection of national cultural monuments concluded between the castle and the Culture Ministry. Some costs might also be covered from a public collection, as well from funds provided by the Hungarian government, the Sme daily reported.
The ministry will allocate about €11.6 million which, according to outgoing Culture Minister Daniel Krajcer, will be enough to cover the reconstruction expenses. However, it is still not clear exactly how much damage the fire caused and how much the administrator of the castle, the Slovak National Museum (SNM), will have to pay to repair it.
Meanwhile, the SNM, together with the Association of the Towns and Villages of the Upper Gemer region, has announced a public collection to raise money for the reconstruction.
The Hungarian government has also promised to help after receiving a letter from the leader of the extra-parliamentary Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) József Berényi. The castle, located near the Slovak-Hungarian border, is very famous among Hungarians and is mentioned in a national song, Sme wrote.
The SNM has already started to move exhibits from the castle museum that were saved from the fire to other museums located in Košice Region. The only exhibit which will remain in the castle is the mummified remains of one of its former owners, Žofia Serédyová, as the risk of damaging them during transport is considered to be too high.
Source: Sme
For more information about this story please see: Cigarette may have started fire at Krásna Hôrka Castle .
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
