Karlovy Vary councilors rejected the referendum on the Vřídelní colonnade

Karlovy Vary - Karlovy Vary city councilors rejected the wording of a referendum regarding the construction of a replica of the Vřídelní Colonnade from the late 19th century, which would replace the functionalist reinforced concrete colonnade from the 1970s. According to the councilors, the wording of the question was ambiguous and could put the city in conflict with the law. A court is likely to decide on the referendum.

In the text of the referendum proposal, alongside the agreement to the intention to build a replica of the colonnade according to builders Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer, there is also a sentence demanding the cessation of repairs on the current colonnade, which is in a state of emergency. This part is problematic, and the councilors deemed it inadmissible.

"For the reason that it cannot be answered unequivocally, but especially because the part concerning the cessation of repairs on the Vřídelní Colonnade places the city in an unlawful position. It is a sensitive area under the supervision of many legal norms," said Mayor Petr Kulhánek (KOA).

According to the law, the organizers of the referendum can now appeal to the court, which should decide within 30 days whether the question is permissible and may order the city to announce the referendum. Organizers, according to one of them, Ota Řezanka, will go this route. The referendum could thus take place on the same date as the presidential elections. The cost to the city would be around one million crowns.

"I don't know a Karlovy Vary resident who wouldn't want to replace what is currently built there. But in order to say yes, I want something different there, I need to know a number of things. Whether it is possible to build something there, how much it will cost, and what the impacts will be on the development of the city," argued councilor Pavel Žemlička (KOA), for example.

Although the councilors generally agreed that gathering over 4,000 signatures for a request for a referendum is commendable in Karlovy Vary and they would support the referendum, the wording of the question unsettled them. The city leadership would prefer an architectural competition that would address the entire area around the Vřídlo. Returning to the cast-iron colonnade from the 19th century could be one of the proposals.

However, according to Řezanka, 80 percent of people in Karlovy Vary are in favor of restoring the old colonnade, 20 percent support the restoration of the current one, and no one wants a new construction or competition.