The former First Republic slaughterhouse in Hradec Králové could gain a new use

Hradec Králové - The area of the former interwar slaughterhouses in Hradec Králové could gain new usage in the future. A group of residents is advocating for the preservation of the slaughterhouses and their use, for example, for cultural purposes, through a petition. Today, the petitioners presented their request at a city council meeting. The new coalition formed from last year's elections has included the development of the location and its transformation in their program declaration as one of the important issues in the area of development and investments.

City representatives stated that the city is not considering the sale or demolition of the area. The petition for the preservation of the slaughterhouses has been signed by over 200 people. They did so primarily out of fear that the city might proceed with demolishing the area or selling it.

The area of the Public Central Slaughterhouse of the Association of Butchers and Sausagemakers and the City of Hradec Králové on Kydlinovská Street in the northwest part of the city was constructed in a modernist style between 1930 and 1931 according to the design of architect Josef Vyleťal. The most valuable part consists mainly of the main slaughter hall building with a water tower, the barn building, and the so-called stomach-making building. The slaughterhouses operated until the end of the 1950s, later finding a new location in the new facility in Březhrad. The area, which has also preserved some historical equipment, belongs to the city and is currently used as a building materials warehouse.

"Former industrial sites offer a wide variety of uses, from production and storage spaces to cultural centers, galleries, or residential spaces," said Kryštof Kučera, chairman of the petition committee, at the council meeting today. He cited the conversion of the former Ostrava slaughterhouses into the city gallery of contemporary art Plato as an example of successful transformation.

The area could receive heritage protection in the future, as the Society for the Protection of Monuments in Eastern Bohemia has submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Culture to declare the area a cultural monument. "It is a unique example of interwar industrial architecture of slaughterhouses, not only in the context of Hradec Králové and Eastern Bohemia but also in the entire Czech Republic. In Hradec, it is a unique example of first-republic industrial architecture," stated Kučera, who is also the author of the proposal for the declaration of the slaughterhouses as a cultural monument.

City representatives indicated that discussions about the further use of the area should take place after the Ministry of Culture has expressed its opinion on the matter. Today, the council members acknowledged the petition.

The former factory district would gain a new impulse for future development through the transformation and use of the slaughterhouses, according to the petitioners. "Establishing a cultural institution at the slaughterhouses would contribute to greater awareness of this hitherto little-known but interesting monument and the entire city district in which it is located," said Kučera.

The coalition in Hradec Králové after the elections in September 2022 consists of the coalition of the Hradec Democratic Club (HDK) and TOP 09, ODS, Pirates, the movement We Develop Hradec, and the group Change for Hradec and Greens.