Bagry in Děčín are destroying the historical fortress

Děčín - Excavators in Děčín are destroying a 500-year-old historical fortress with a farmyard. The fortress and surrounding buildings are not protected as monuments, but they are still valuable architectural heritage. Heritage conservationists emphasized the historical value of the site, but did not propose its inclusion among state-protected monuments. The building authority thus issued a permit to the private owner for the demolition of the site. This is reported by today's regional supplement of Mladá fronta Dnes.
    A year ago, Děčín archivist Ota Chmelík began efforts to save the site. "It's a huge failure of heritage care; they should have addressed it 20 years ago. I don't understand why the heritage conservationists are waiting until a monument is threatened with destruction," said Chmelík.
    According to Anna Sellnerová, an employee of the National Heritage Institute in Ústí nad Labem, the heritage conservationists made a mistake by not proposing the fortress for the monuments list. "We agreed with the new owner that he would keep the most valuable parts of the fortress and the yard, and we wouldn't bind him with official heritage oversight over the reconstruction. Unfortunately, now I already know that we were misled," she stated.