EU funds help: Automatic Mills have become the pride of Pardubice

In addition to a business incubator, the Automatic Mills now also house the Gočár’s Gallery run by the Pardubice Region, and the educational and creative institution Sphere with the Pardubice Municipal Gallery (GAMPA), funded by the municipality of Pardubice.

The historical complex of mill buildings, which was in operation for more than 100 years, was transformed between 2020 and 2023 to become a modern cultural and social urban district. The transformation was initiated by the Automatic Mills Foundation of Mr and Mrs Smetana. It bought the premises in 2016. Gradually, the restoration of the national cultural heritage site was joined by the Pardubice Region and the City of Pardubice.

The area was opened to the public last year. For the first time in history, people can look into the grain silo on the right side of the arch, owned by the foundation. While the ground floor of the building houses a branch of the city's tourist information centre, a multifunctional hall with a terrace was created on the upper floor. The regional Gočár’s Gallery operates in the main building of the former mill. The northern part of the site is home to the Sphere municipal education centre and the GAMPA municipal gallery. Other public spaces, including the inner square, were also built by the foundation.
 
UNIQUE SPACES FOR THE REGIONAL GALLERY
In 2018, the Pardubice Region bought a part of the Automatic Mills with a clear intention of moving its gallery to the new premises. "The East Bohemian Gallery in Pardubice was housed in the outbuildings at the Pardubice Chateau which is undergoing significant reconstruction. My advisory council of architects, consisting of Ladislav Lábus, Josef Pleskot and Petr Všetečka, recommended looking for a new location for the gallery. And when we went to see the brownfield in the mills after a meeting, we got the idea that this could be the right environment for it. The fact that the building was designed by a famous native of nearby Semín u Přelouče was another added value that we used when changing the name of the gallery after an agreement with Josef Gočár's descendants," said Roman Línek, Deputy Governor of the Pardubice Region.

That was in 2017, and subsequently negotiations began on the purchase of the building for the needs of the gallery. "In the end, the regional representatives reached an agreement and we bought the building a year later. Gočár's Gallery represents the largest investment in culture in the history of the region with total expenditure of the EU funds project at over CZK 400 million. Out of that amount, the region received CZK 127 million from European Union sources. The Pardubice Region thus helped to save the national cultural heritage site of Automatic Mills, and the possibility of using EU funds certainly played an important role in pushing this plan through in the regional assembly," deputy Roman Línek recalls.

He also points out the symbiosis of activities in the entire area of the mills. "We were not alone there, this place is interesting in that four EU projects were implemented here within a short period of time by three investors - the region, the city of Pardubice and a private individual. And the created work is worth almost a billion."
 
THE CITY GOT A NEW EDUCATIONAL CENTRE
The City of Pardubice also played a significant role in the reconstruction of the Automatic Mills. It owns a building within the premises, which was reconstructed from a former warehouse of packaged flour. Its lower part hosts the GAMPA (Pardubice Municipal Gallery) while the upper part is occupied by the Sphere polytechnic educational centre that offers non-traditional forms of education and interconnects science, modern technology and the tradition of regional crafts.

he projects worth CZK 388 million received a grant of almost CZK 50 million from the European Union.

In addition to the aforementioned Automatic Mills Foundation, the regional Gočár’s Gallery and the municipal organisations Sphere and GAMPA, Mr and Mrs Smetana also have other business plans, including the construction of residential and commercial buildings. This phase aims to close the premises from the eastern side and create an urban district with community facilities. This will make the place even more vibrant and attractive as it completes the imaginary golden triangle in the centre of Pardubice, formed by the historic urban conservation area with the Pernštýnské square, the Renaissance chateau and the third apex now being the Automatic Mills.
 
“When we went to see the brownfield in the mills after a meeting, we got the idea that this could be the right environment for the gallery.” Roman Línek, Deputy Governor.
 
EU FUNDS BREATHED LIFE INTO THE AUTOMATIC MILLS. A new attraction of Pardubice is the renewed site of the Automatic Mills close to the historical centre of the regional capital. One of the buildings houses the regional art gallery named after the architect Josef Gočár. Its new home is considered a success by the Deputy Governor of the Pardubice Region, Roman Línek (bottom middle). Next to it, there is the modern building Sphere focused on young people and modern art.

Photo: Deník daily - Jiří Macek, Pardubice Region archive