The capital city is unlikely to buy the dilapidated Vyšehrad train station

Prague - Under the current conditions, Prague does not plan to buy the dilapidated Vyšehrad railway station, as the price demanded by the owner is too high. Jan Chabr (TOP 09), the city councillor for property, informed ČTK about this today. The newspaper E15 reported that the Art Nouveau station is for sale. According to Chabr, the owner is already in negotiations with a private interested party.

The current magistrate coalition of the Pirates, Prague Sobě, and United Forces for Prague (TOP 09) has the purchase of the heritage-protected building in its program declaration. However, according to Chabr, the city can hardly compete in price with a private investor who expects returns from the associated project.

"For us, the price is too high," summarized the councillor. "We have held discussions with Prague 2 in a working group, where we contemplated the future of the station. We have prepared a variant of what Prague would like to have there, but at the current moment, unfortunately, we are not approaching an agreement with the owner that would be justifiable from the perspective of public finances," he added.

The Prague 2 municipality recently stated that it would like to create exhibition spaces for Alphonse Mucha's Slav Epic in the station, or rather in a newly created annex. The municipality has long been trying to acquire the property. Its statement is being sought by ČTK.

The operation of the station was halted around 1960, and its reopening is not permitted by regulations stating that the station cannot be in a curve. New houses were to be built in the vicinity, but a decision on their possible construction has not yet been made. The property, which was declared a cultural monument in 2000, has been in private hands since 2007.