H. Králové will have an architectural competition on the street with the communist monument

Hradec Králové - The city of Hradec Králové will prepare an architectural-art competition for the redevelopment of the square on U Koruny street, in the center of which is a massive concrete monument from the socialist era known as the Gallery of Honor. The city hall plans to preserve and repurpose the monument. Today, the city council approved the inclusion of an expenditure of 1.7 million crowns for organizing the competition in the city's budget by the narrowest majority of 19 votes.

The square is located between the Koruna intersection with the Aupark shopping center and October 28 Square. In addition to the transformation of the square, the city will also continue preparing the reconstruction of U Koruny street, stated Adam Záruba, the deputy mayor for heritage care and spatial planning (Change for Hradec).

According to him, the remnants of the Gallery of Honor could become part of the new space and be used for cultural and educational purposes. "More than 33 years after 1989, this is largely a historical matter, almost an archaeological find. Most such things have already disappeared, and we should approach this differently," Záruba stated. In the past, the city hall considered demolishing the monument.

According to the opposition movement ANO, the city should focus more on traffic adjustments at U Koruny, where large traffic jams form at the intersection. The opposition was also troubled by the lack of a financial cap for the redevelopment of the square.

The Gallery of Honor consists of two concrete blocks, at the junction of which is a relief of a large five-pointed star. On one block, most of the letters from the inscription "The people are the main creators of history" remain. During the socialist period, photos of distinguished local communists and communist-honored workers hung on the monument. Two flagpoles still stand near the monument. The five-pointed star is not very visible because the Gallery of Honor is partly overgrown with bushes.

According to Záruba, the area around U Koruny street is significantly neglected. By choosing an architectural competition, the city could receive 20 to 30 proposals for the adjustment of the square, he mentioned.

The adjacent areas of the Koruna intersection and October 28 Square have already been repaired by the city at a total cost of nearly a quarter of a billion crowns in the past ten years.

According to Záruba, the city could announce the architectural competition at the beginning of 2024 and evaluate it within the same year. The actual redevelopment of the square, which will also include the construction of roads, sidewalks, and new greenery, could, according to Záruba, cost tens of millions of crowns.