The Brno International Hotel is no longer on the list of monuments

photo: Miroslav Divina

Brno - The International Hotel in Brno is no longer on the list of cultural monuments. The removal of the hotel from the list was decided by the Ministry of Culture at the request of the owner. This was reported by today's Brno daily.
    Heritage officials want to reinstate the building on the list, believing that the ministry's decision was contrary to regulations. "The declaration of the hotel as a cultural monument was revoked, despite the fact that both state and city heritage officials were against it. They found no reasons justifying the revocation of the monument status," said the spokesperson for the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ), Simona Juračková.
    According to Zdenek Vácha, the director of the Brno branch of NPÚ, the hotel has great urban significance. "It is one of the most important buildings in the so-called Brussels style in the Czech Republic. It has retained its character to this day, both externally and internally," Vácha stated.
    However, the Ministry of Culture concluded that the hotel has retained its original appearance from the outside, but the interiors are compromised. "During the inspection, we found that the original artistic and craftsmanship elements exist to a lesser extent, do not connect with each other, and some of them cannot be considered part of the cultural monument, but rather as separate movable items," said the ministry spokesperson Anna Ješátková.
    The officials were also displeased that some original elements have disappeared, and particularly that the layout of the rooms in the atrium has changed. The building is now protected only as part of the Brno City Heritage Reserve. The protection in the city reserve pertains only to exteriors. Last week, the heritage institute asked the ministry to review its decision.
    The International Hotel is located in the center of Brno and has been open since 1962. It is built in the Brussels style, inspired by the famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer.