The historical seat of the year 2012 became Jilemnice

Prague - The historic town of the year 2012 has been awarded to Jilemnice in the Semily region. The accolade is a reward for the best care of monuments based on the grant program of the Ministry of Culture. The mayor of the town in the foothills of the Krkonoš mountains, Vladimír Richter, received the title and one million Czech crowns designated for further monument repairs at today’s meeting at Prague Castle.
    The meeting is traditionally held on the occasion of the International Day of Monuments and Sites, which has been celebrated since 1983 on April 18. This year, 46 entities entered the competition, with 14 proposals advancing to the next round from different regions, from which three finalists emerged. In addition to Jilemnice, Příbor and Cheb were nominated. Jilemnice has reached the finals of this competition, held since 1995, for the third time this year.
    "I think we deserve this recognition. The town joined the Regeneration Program in 1993, and the urban heritage zone was declared three years earlier," Richter told ČTK. He added that the one million crowns will be used for the renovation of the castle's roof, which houses the Krkonoš Museum of Jilemnice.
    In the town, which boasts a rich cultural and social life, organizations such as the Jilemnice Beautification Society and the Jilemnice Society of Ladies and Girls are active.
    The award, organized by the Association of Historic Sites of Bohemia, Moravia, and Silesia, as well as the Ministries of Culture and Regional Development, is granted for the best implementation of the Program for the Regeneration of Urban Heritage Reservations and Zones. In the program announced by the Ministry of Culture, financial contributions from the state, municipalities, and the property owner are pooled for the repairs of monuments.
    In the Czech Republic, there are about 40,000 immovable monuments and over forty heritage reservations and zones. Between 1993 and last year, the state budget allocated 4.3 billion crowns to the program. This program has been used to restore 13,000 monuments, with the total renovation costs amounting to 11.3 billion crowns by the end of last year. The winning Jilemnice, for example, has received 12.75 million crowns from the program since 1996, which contributed to repairs totaling more than 33 million crowns, Mayor Richter stated earlier.
    However, the funds earmarked for this one ministerial heritage program are dwindling - while in the 1990s the program often received over 300 million crowns annually, since 2008, the amounts have fallen to 137 million crowns in the year before last and last year. This year, the program has only 100 million crowns available.
    The Ministry of Culture has a total of eight heritage programs, and the amount of money flowing into all of them has significantly decreased in recent years. In 2009, it was a total of 788 million, last year 539 million, and for this year, 410 million crowns are expected.