Liberec wants to register the more than century-old cinema Warsaw among cultural monuments

Liberec – Liberec will strive to have the building of the Warsaw Cinema listed as a cultural monument. It is the oldest stone cinema in a city with a population of one hundred thousand, with a history dating back to 1908. It now survives thanks to enthusiasts from the namesake association, which has leased the cinema from the city and operates it. However, neither the association nor the city hall has the funds for an expensive reconstruction of the building. Deputy Mayor Radka Loučková Kotasová told reporters today that if the cinema were listed as a monument, the chances of obtaining European funding for its repair in the next programming period, specifically from the so-called Integrated Territorial Investments (ITI), would increase.

"The reconstruction of the Warsaw Cinema is one of the projects we are considering preparing specifically for ITI," she added.

The operation of the cinema in the art deco style building almost ended definitively in 2008 after 100 years of operation. At that time, the city hall did not have the money for an expensive repair costing tens of millions of crowns, and moreover, it considered further operation of the cinema unnecessary and closed it, as two multiplexes started operating in Liberec.

Enthusiasts from the association partially restored the operation of Warsaw after six years, in 2014. They are gradually improving the facilities of the cinema; a café is open in the foyer, the small Barrandoff hall is partially repaired, and the large hall for 250 people is also operational. The association is gradually funding the interior repairs from ticket sales, grants, and a public collection, but the building needs a major reconstruction. According to the developed project, around 50 million crowns will be needed, and previous attempts by the city to obtain funds for the renovation from cross-border European programs have ended in failure.