The railways in Podolí from the 1950s are a monument, the New Stage awaits

Prague - The Ministry of Culture has not initiated proceedings for declaring certain buildings from the second half of the 20th century as cultural monuments even nearly a year and a half after the proposal was submitted. Among them are buildings constructed during the completion of the National Theatre, including the New Stage. "First, it is necessary to complete the proceedings that have already been initiated. The ministry is handling a large number of proceedings concerning buildings from various historical periods simultaneously," stated the spokesperson for the Ministry of Culture, Michaela Lagronová, in response to a query from ČTK. Last year, university dormitories in Podolí, Prague from the 1950s were declared a monument.

According to her, the buildings from the second half of the 20th century that experts recommend as valuable only represent a fraction of the spectrum that ministry workers are dealing with. One group of buildings cannot be prioritized over others, she added.

In the case of the New Stage building and the nearby Themos building, the verdict on whether they will be declared as monuments or not will be important. The National Theatre is preparing a renovation of both buildings. ND spokesperson Tomáš Staněk told ČTK that the theatre has completed an ideological study and repairs could start at the end of 2022.

The set of buildings, among which were former buildings like the International Union of Students on Pařížská Street, the Urology Clinic of VFN and 1st Faculty of Medicine, UK in Prague 2, Strojimport, the Intercontinental Hotel, Centrotex, the planetarium, the crematorium in Motol, student dormitories in Podolí or Větrník, were proposed for declaration by architectural historians from ČVUT in October 2018. The ministry refused to initiate proceedings for the building of the student union as unfounded, but last year it declared the dormitories of ČVUT in Podolí, which are part of the Sorrell style and were built in 1953, as a monument.

"In the case of the crematorium in Motol or the railway station in Ostrava - Vítkovice, the proceedings are still ongoing," said the spokesperson. "This is by no means an exhaustive list. The proceedings for declaring buildings as cultural monuments are complex administrative procedures, often involving a relatively large number of participants who frequently use all procedural options to prevent the matter from being declared a cultural monument. Therefore, the duration of the proceedings cannot be anticipated," she reminded.

An example of a lengthy proceeding is the Kotva department store, where the owner filed an appeal against the first-instance decision, and the ministry decided on the declaration of this building more times than the decision became legally binding.

Among the buildings representing architecture from the second half of the 20th century, the ministry has previously declared the Máj department store, the former Federal Assembly building, the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Expo Pavilion, Hotel House, or Hotel Internacional as monuments in Prague. In other cities, the Continental Hotel (Brno), buildings in Sorrell style in Ostrava or Ostrov nad Ohří, the cultural house of the city of Ostrava, Koldům (Litvínov, České Budějovice), swimming pool (České Budějovice), railway buildings (Duchcov, Cheb) have been similarly recognized.

Historians Klára Brůhová and Petr Vorlík from ČVUT, however, state on the website Post-War Architecture that the ministry has also not declared some buildings as monuments, which could lead to their demolition or significant reconstruction. Among them are the Praha Hotel in Dejvice or the group of buildings Transgas. In some cases, the ministry has previously revoked the monument protection it had granted.

Brůhová also criticizes the fact that the ministry does not inform about initiated or rejected proceedings; it does not publish the results of the proceedings on the declaration as cultural monuments itself, and only the participants in the proceedings learn about it.