The reconstruction of the moving sculpture depicting the head of famous author Franz Kafka, located by the Quadrio shopping centre, has been successfully completed.

The city has announced that it will put it back with an official re-unveiling to take place on 29 February at 7 PM at Piazza Quadrio shopping centre. There will be a spectral light show and original music.

It took a total of five months to repair David Černý’s work. “Each of the 42 rotating panels the sculpture is comprised of underwent necessary maintenance work. Our technicians replaced the rotating mechanism of each panel individually. It is now equipped with a more modern technical solution that will ensure a longer service life and easier maintenance,” shared Alex Černý, executive director of DEUS Automation, which carried out the repair.

Prague residents and visitors can once again look forward to the 15-minute rotation of the statue, which takes place once every hour.

“We are very pleased that this demanding repair was successful and that the bust is going back to where it belongs, and in even better shape,” said František Šlapák, asset manager at CPI Property Group.

The pioneering dynamic statue features 42 rotating layers and almost a kilometre of cables inside it. The panels rotate independently which results in creating different facial expressions.

This year, Prague is commemorating 100 years since the death of one of its most famous sons and cultural figures – Franz Kafka.

The Czech capital has organized a range of events, such as exhibitions, book fairs and film screenings to celebrate the legacy of the literary icon of the absurdist and surreal.