Domažlice has its brewery back, renovations will begin after the elections

Domažlice - Domažlice have become the definitive owner of the former brewery after several years of disputes with a Prague developer. In what is claimed to be the oldest brewery in Central Europe, closed 14 years ago, the town hall wants to restore beer brewing as soon as possible. Right after the elections, they will begin preparations for the reconstruction into a microbrewery, restaurant, and cultural center for the region, all costing 100 million crowns. Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2012, said Mayor Miroslav Mach, according to whom this is one of the city's priorities.
    The town has withdrawn from the contract with the Prague developer, who then sued the town hall for the invalidity of the termination. "The regional court finally recognized that the termination is valid. The contract is therefore null and the property is definitively owned by the town," added Mach. The town hall has already requested the deletion from the real estate registry so it can freely manage its property. After the elections, they will start working on the documentation for the zoning decision, which they will apply for in the spring of 2011.
    Domažlice had, until now, been the owner of the brewery, but according to a four-year-old contract, they were supposed to sell it to the developer for 7.23 million crowns after the reconstruction of the building, which, however, has not begun. The town hall will reimburse the Prague company for incurred operational costs and will pay for everything it can utilize. However, it refuses to cover costs for unusable projects, for example.
    Preparations for the reconstruction will begin immediately after the elections. The town hall aims to build the cultural block with EU subsidies. They are seeking an investor for the brewery with a restaurant, which will come with facades costing 25 million crowns.
    The Domažlice brewery with popular regional products Purkmistr and Radní was closed by Plzeňský Prazdroj in 1996. The brewery building, dating back to around 1720, is a protected monument. The tradition of brewing beer in the town extends back to 1341. In the building right next to the square, besides a microbrewery, a large restaurant, gallery, theater space, and a regional museum of history related to Domažlice and beer brewing are expected to be established by 2014.
   "The building is in very good structural condition. Only the roof and waterproofing will need to be replaced,” said the author of the restoration study, architect Jiří Vorel. The mayor confirmed that the preserved technical equipment in the restored brewery will remain even after the cultural halls, gallery, museum, and two restaurants with 300 seats are opened to the public.
   "The brewery is one of the last technical monuments that have not been demolished in the city. It would be very valuable for the locals if the building served its original purpose again,” said local historian Zdeněk Procházka.