Bzenec will demolish the former warehouses in the castle grounds and build a parking lot

Bzenec - The town hall in Bzenec in the Hodonín region wants to demolish the former warehouses in the castle complex and build about 40 parking spaces there. Pavel Čejka (KDU-ČSL), the mayor, told ČTK this. The costs of demolition and the construction of the parking lot will be in millions of crowns, but the mayor does not yet know the exact amount. The castle is empty, and the town has considered renovating or selling the castle buildings.

Demolition is expected to begin at the end of the holidays, and the parking lot should be established next year. "These are former warehouses and a bottling line. They are of modern construction and have nothing to do with the castle. We want to open the area from the street side and build about 40 parking spaces on the freed-up area," said Čejka. They will serve visitors to the castle park and the nearby restaurant.

The town intended to build a wine-tourism center in the area. Wine events are held in the park, and a winery is located nearby. "We also applied for support within the brownfield program, but there is an overpressure of requests, so I don’t see it very realistically that anyone would contribute," said the mayor.

Therefore, last year the town announced an intention to sell the castle buildings. "We wanted to verify whether investors are willing to go for it at all. We received some offers, and now we are negotiating with the Brno University of Technology regarding the valuation of the buildings," said Čejka. He added that in the case of a sale of the buildings, the park and other areas would remain with the town.

In the location of the Bzenec castle, there was previously a fortress from the 15th century. At the beginning of the 17th century, the fortress was demolished, and a Renaissance castle was built. In the 18th century, it faced demolition and a new construction of the castle in the Baroque style. In the 19th century, the building was demolished for the third time, and construction was completed in the pseudo-Gothic style. In the first half of the 20th century, it became the seat of winemakers, and in 2002 the town of Bzenec purchased the castle along with the park.