The Property Office is offering the Veleslavín Castle for the seventh time, the price remains 299 million CZK

Prague - The Office for Representation of the State in Property Matters (ÚZSVM) is offering the Prague Veleslavín Castle for sale for the seventh time. In an electronic auction starting today at 10:00 and lasting for 24 hours, it is being sold with an asking price of 299 million crowns, the same as in June. The previous six attempts to sell the castle were unsuccessful, and no one registered for any of them.

Today’s auction can be attended by anyone who has paid a deposit of 15 million crowns before it starts, stated ÚZSVM.

In the past, the property office proposed to include Veleslavín Castle in a property exchange between Prague and the state, which ultimately did not happen. The request from the capital city for a free transfer was rejected by the property office. No one registered for subsequent auctions, even though the starting price had gradually decreased from the original 580 million crowns. After the first round of the auction, the office offered the property to the capital city and the municipal district of Prague 6 at the starting price. Both the city and the municipal district rejected the offer, considering the price too high; they believed that about a third of that amount would be appropriate.

Veleslavín Castle, with its historic park, covers three hectares and dates back to approximately 1725. It was built according to plans by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer for Empress Amálie of Brunswick. In the first half of the 20th century, it served as a neurological sanatorium founded by Leo Kosák and one of the discoverers of Alzheimer's disease, Oskar Fischer. Notable patients included Charlotta Garrigue Masaryková and Milena Jesenská.

The communist regime nationalized the complex, and after the revolution, various institutions rented the building. It is now under the property office, which acquired the complex from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in 2015. The last renovation of the complex took place in 1986, and according to the office, further reconstruction is necessary. Currently, the property is on loan to Prague 6, which made part of the complex accessible to the public last year.

Recent auctions of properties with high starting prices organized by ÚZSVM have generally ended unsuccessfully. In addition to Veleslavín Castle, attempts to sell, for example, the Central Bohemian Štiřín Castle or the Broadway Palace in Prague have repeatedly failed. Conversely, a successful auction occurred in March for the Prague building U Hybernů, which sold for 447 million crowns, making it the second most profitable sale in the history of ÚZSVM. The highest amount to date, 790 million crowns, was obtained from the sale of the complex at Republic Square in the city center.