The historical city of the year 2022 is Vysoké Mýto

Publisher
ČTK
18.04.2023 19:00
Czech Republic

Prague

Prague - The historic city of the year 2022 is today Vysoké Mýto from the Pardubice Region. The award is a reward for the best use of funds for the restoration of monuments from the Ministry of Culture (MK) program. The award, which includes a prize of one million crowns for further care of the monuments, was received in the church of the Prague Crossroads by the mayor of the city, František Jiraský.


The competition is organized by the Association of Historical Settlements of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, as well as the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Local Development, which honor the best use of subsidies from the MK program for the regeneration of urban heritage reserves and zones. The program combines state, municipal, and private funds for repairs. The title of Historic City of the Year is announced annually on the occasion of the International Day of Monuments and Sites, which falls on April 18.

"I am glad that the efforts of the local government and property owners have been recognized; we have been striving for this for several years," said the mayor of the winning city upon receiving the award. He reminded that monuments must not only be repaired but also need to be kept alive. "I believe that we are managing to bring life to the historic city of Vysoké Mýto," he stated.

"I would like to thank everyone who contributes to the fact that our heritage zone is vibrant," he added. When asked if they have thought about where to invest the one million crowns, he replied that the city would be capable of applying ten million crowns for the care of monuments. "But it occurred to us on the way here that if it comes through, we will do a new facade on our Šember Theatre," he added.

The historic core of Vysoké Mýto has been protected as an urban heritage zone since 1990; today it encompasses 34 monuments. The reason for its establishment was to protect the medieval urban layout of the city with a central square and a rectangular street network featuring remnants of the fortification system and the inner old buildings. The efforts of the Vysoké Mýto patriots led by Alois Vojtěch Šembera contributed to the preservation of the remains of the city fortifications. The most notable remnants of the city fortifications are the towers of the Prague, Litomyšl, and Choceň Gates, the northwestern tower of the city fortifications known as the Water Tower following its conversion in the 18th century, and the Klášterská Bastion located near the site of the Minorite monastery destroyed during the Hussite Wars.

Last year, the city drew 1.06 million crowns from the regeneration program. It repaired the main entrance area to its heritage zone, which includes the great tower of the Prague Gate, Šember Theatre, and the neighboring Havlíčkovy Sady. The repairs of the three mentioned monuments cost more than 65 million crowns.

The regional winners of the competition for the title of Historic City of the Year 2022, besides the main winner, included České Budějovice, Horažďovice, Cheb, Jablonec nad Nisou, Jemnice, Jičín, Kolín, Lomnice, Prague 1, Příbor, Šternberk, Valašské Meziříčí, and Žatec. Each city received a prize of 100,000 crowns. The Ministry of Local Development also awarded the same amount to the cities of Valašské Meziříčí and Žatec.

On the occasion of the International Day of Monuments and Sites, the Minister of Culture, Martin Baxa (ODS), today awarded the Heritage Care Award to Kamila Matoušková. She was among those responsible for the establishment of the ministerial program, under which the holders of the title Historic City of the Year are recognized.

In the Czech Republic, there are about 40,000 immovable monuments and approximately 40 heritage reserves and zones. The program for the regeneration of urban heritage reserves and zones is the second longest-running program of the Ministry of Culture in heritage care. Since its establishment in 1993, through this program, the office has supported the restoration of 18,700 cultural monuments with a sum exceeding 5.86 billion crowns. The total cost of all these restorations, with funds from other entities, has exceeded 15 billion crowns.
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