The region wants to allocate 15 million for the restoration of Larisch's villa in Pardubice

Pardubice - The Pardubice Region intends to allocate 15 million crowns for the restoration of Larisch Villa in Pardubice over the next two years. The villa is a symbol of Czechoslovak resistance, but its owner - the Czechoslovak Legionary Association - lacks the funds for its restoration. A Declaration of Cooperation for a common purpose is also being prepared, the signatories of which will be the region and legionnaires, as well as the city of Pardubice and the Ministry of Culture, Zuzana Nováková from the governor's office stated in a press release. An estimated 55 to 70 million is needed for a complete reconstruction.

"For this purpose, the Pardubice Region has five million crowns in the proposed budget for next year and ten million crowns for 2020," said Governor Martin Netolický (CSSD).

The neo-Renaissance villa, known as Zámeček in Pardubice, was commissioned by Baron Jiří Larisch-Mönich as his representative residence on the outskirts of the city in 1855. During the German occupation, it was owned by a police regiment from Cologne. In the basements of the building during the heyday of Heydrich in 1942, Nazis interrogated collaborators of the Silver A paratroopers and residents of Ležáky, who were subsequently executed at a nearby shooting range.

After the war, the villa housed a school for officer cadets, and from 1956, Pardubice Tesla had offices and warehouses there. In 2000, the entire industrial complex, including the villa, was purchased by Foxconn, which transferred the long-unused Zámeček to the Czechoslovak Legionary Association free of charge in 2015. The organization is gradually restoring the dilapidated building.

The state could also contribute to the repairs through an individual subsidy. The rescue effort should also be aided by a declaration as a national cultural monument. Pardubice will initially provide 700,000 crowns; last year, half a million was allocated for the reconstruction of the town hall.

MPs Věra Kovářová (STAN) and Mikuláš Ferjenčík (Pirates) proposed during the discussion of the state budget for 2019 to transfer 6.3 million crowns for the repair of Larisch Villa, which had previously been designated for the Czech Freedom Fighters Union. They cited the deviation of the union from the ideals, values, and mission of this organization as the reason. However, according to CTK information, the proposal is opposed by the KSČM.