The owner of the burnt-down mill in Vranov does not want heritage protection

photo: www.znojemsko.cz

Vranov nad Dyjí - Two months after the baroque mill burned down in Vranov nad Dyjí in the Znojmo region, its owner submitted a proposal to have the building removed from the list of protected monuments. Aleš Homola from the Brno office of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) confirmed this to ČTK. The cause of the fire has not yet been clarified, as ČTK learned from the police and the firefighters.

"The case of the former mill fire is still under investigation," said police spokesperson Kamila Haraštová. Firefighters did not provide further comments on the case in response to ČTK's inquiry. Their spokesperson Petr Příkaský only hinted to ČTK that they are working with multiple scenarios. He referred to the police investigation in this context.

The mill building burned down in early June, with preliminary damage estimated at about 1.5 million crowns. According to heritage officials, the fire caused irreparable damage to the monument. Almost the entire milling area, which is the technological part of the protected mill, was destroyed. "From a heritage perspective, it is a tragic and irreversible loss. It is currently impossible to estimate how the situation with the building will develop further, but it will never have that former authentic historical value again," said Jan Kozdas from the National Heritage Institute, who hails from Vranov, earlier to ČTK.

The complex has several construction phases. The oldest dates back to the first quarter of the 18th century and ends in 1722, the year Michal Jan III. of Althann died. He has an allied coat of arms above the entrance to the complex along with his wife Maria Josefa Pignatelli, who died 33 years after him. The fire did not damage it, just like the residential buildings. The next phase of the mill's construction is in the neoclassical style.

The property changed owners a few months ago, with plans for its reconstruction and commercial use. According to Kozdas, this plan was in sharp conflict with heritage protection. The same owner has now requested to be relieved of the heritage protection of the property.