Activists want to restore the cast iron Vřídelní colonnade in a referendum

Karlovy Vary - About 4000 signatures are under the petition for the declaration of a local referendum on the restoration of the Vřídelní Colonnade in Karlovy Vary to the form given by architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer. The petition will be assessed by the city magistrate, and if it meets legal conditions, voters in the city should vote on the proposal, said Mayor Petr Kulhánek (KOA) to ČTK.

"We have received a proposal for the organization of a local referendum regarding the restoration of the cast-iron colonnade of Fellner and Helmer where the current Vřídelní Colonnade is located. The procedural processing has specific rules defined by law. We have 15 days to deal with it. If the proposal is without flaws, it will be presented to the council and the assembly, which should declare the referendum, likely concurrently with the parliamentary elections," Kulhánek stated.

The magistrate must assess especially whether the petition has a sufficient number of valid signatures. A support of at least 10 percent of eligible voters is required for the declaration of the referendum. There are nearly 39,000 voters on the electoral roll in Karlovy Vary.

However, if the referendum were to take place concurrently with the parliamentary elections, it would impose high costs on the city. Voting would have to be separated from the elections to the chamber, it would need its own electoral commission, its own screen, and so on. Meanwhile, the magistrate is having problems filling electoral commissions even during regular elections.

The cast-iron colonnade designed by the famous architects, who significantly contributed to the appearance of the spa town, was built between 1878 and 1879. It was dismantled in 1939. Until 1975, it was replaced only by a wooden provisional structure. Then, in the place where the Vřídlo spring gushes, a functionalist reinforced concrete colonnade was built. However, this is currently in very poor condition, and the city is preparing its reconstruction, including the relocation of the technology for tapping thermal water. The spring of Vřídlo itself has also been moved from the hall in front of the colonnade.

According to Mayor Kulhánek, it would be better if the restoration of the cast-iron colonnade were one of the options considered by experts within the planned architectural competition for the shape and use of the Vřídelní Colonnade and its surroundings. However, if the petition for the declaration of a referendum meets legal conditions, it must be voted on.