diff --git a/src/Root.cpp b/src/Root.cpp
index 1df7cfff4..0869192b8 100644
--- a/src/Root.cpp
+++ b/src/Root.cpp
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@
 #include "OverridesSettingsRepository.h"
 #include "Logger.h"
 #include "ClientHandle.h"
+#include "BlockTypePalette.h"
 
 
 
@@ -192,6 +193,24 @@ void cRoot::Start(std::unique_ptr<cSettingsRepositoryInterface> a_OverridesRepo)
 	// cClientHandle::FASTBREAK_PERCENTAGE = settingsRepo->GetValueSetI("AntiCheat", "FastBreakPercentage", 97) / 100.0f;
 	cClientHandle::FASTBREAK_PERCENTAGE = 0;  // AntiCheat disabled due to bugs. We will enabled it once they are fixed. See #3506.
 
+	// Load the UpgradeBlockTypePalette:
+	LOG("Loading UpgradeBlockTypePalette...");
+	try
+	{
+		auto paletteStr = cFile::ReadWholeFile("Protocol/UpgradeBlockTypePalette.txt");
+		if (paletteStr.empty())
+		{
+			throw std::runtime_error("File is empty");
+		}
+		m_UpgradeBlockTypePalette.reset(new BlockTypePalette);
+		m_UpgradeBlockTypePalette->loadFromString(paletteStr);
+	}
+	catch (const std::exception & exc)
+	{
+		LOGERROR("Failed to load the Upgrade block type palette from Protocol/UpgradeBlockTypePalette.txt: %s\nAborting", exc.what());
+		throw;
+	}
+
 	m_MojangAPI = new cMojangAPI;
 	bool ShouldAuthenticate = settingsRepo->GetValueSetB("Authentication", "Authenticate", true);
 	m_MojangAPI->Start(*settingsRepo, ShouldAuthenticate);  // Mojang API needs to be started before plugins, so that plugins may use it for DB upgrades on server init
diff --git a/src/Root.h b/src/Root.h
index 169a78194..1d3a6a347 100644
--- a/src/Root.h
+++ b/src/Root.h
@@ -28,6 +28,7 @@ class cCompositeChat;
 class cSettingsRepositoryInterface;
 class cDeadlockDetect;
 class cUUID;
+class BlockTypePalette;
 
 using cPlayerListCallback =  cFunctionRef<bool(cPlayer &)>;
 using cWorldListCallback  =  cFunctionRef<bool(cWorld  &)>;
@@ -92,6 +93,9 @@ public:
 	/** Returns the (read-write) storage for registered block types. */
 	BlockTypeRegistry & GetBlockTypeRegistry() { return m_BlockTypeRegistry; }
 
+	/** Returns the block type palette used for upgrading blocks from pre-1.13 data. */
+	const BlockTypePalette & GetUpgradeBlockTypePalette() const { return *m_UpgradeBlockTypePalette; }
+
 	/** Returns the number of ticks for how long the item would fuel a furnace. Returns zero if not a fuel */
 	static int GetFurnaceFuelBurnTime(const cItem & a_Fuel);  // tolua_export
 
@@ -234,6 +238,9 @@ private:
 	/** The storage for all registered block types. */
 	BlockTypeRegistry m_BlockTypeRegistry;
 
+	/** The upgrade palette for pre-1.13 blocks. */
+	std::unique_ptr<BlockTypePalette> m_UpgradeBlockTypePalette;
+
 
 	void LoadGlobalSettings();