As part of the beginning of the complete restoration of Jiřího z Poděbrad Square, representatives of the capital and the Prague 3 City Council today tapped the foundation stone, which was brought to the site from the Prague Castle. It is an original paving stone from the third courtyard, designed by the prominent architect Josip Plečnik, the author of the Church of the Sacred Heart of the Lord on Jiřího z Poděbrad Square. Symbolically, the two places are once again connected.

The first stage of the project for the overall restoration of Jiřího z Poděbrad Square began in January this year, when the site was fenced off and preparatory work began. As part of the restoration, the area in front of the church will be landscaped and the pedestrian walkways and greenery will be improved. New avenues of trees will separate the park from the busy roads. The work will take 33 months and will preserve both cultural events and the traditional farmers' market, which will move around the square according to the construction stages.

The foundation stone, which was officially laid on Friday 16 February 2024, comes from the paving of the Third Courtyard of Prague Castle. With this symbolic gesture, the capital is following the original idea of the Slovenian architect Josip Plečnik, who wanted to connect the Church of the Sacred Heart of the Lord, currently under construction on Jiřího z Poděbrad Square, with Prague Castle in a meaningful way as early as the late 1920s, and so he had stones from the Castle inserted. At the same time, during the era of Czechoslovak President T. G. Masaryk, he himself worked on the restoration of Prague Castle.