The owners want to register the Lantern as a national cultural monument

Prague - The owners of the Prague Lucerna Palace, Ivan M. Havel and Dagmar Havlová, are seeking to have the complex listed as a national cultural monument. A corresponding proposal is already on the desk at the Ministry of Culture, which, after a possible recommendation, the Minister of Culture should submit for government approval. The Havlovas informed reporters about this today.

The massive complex of walls, glass, and metal called Lucerna, which was built between 1907 and 1921 in the center of the metropolis by the grandfather of former Czech President Václav Havel, is now a cultural monument. The status of a national cultural monument would provide the palace, among other things, with a higher level of protection and increase its chances of obtaining certain grants.

"Practically nothing would change in the operation of Lucerna, it would remain a cultural and social center," said Havlová to ČTK. According to Ivan M. Havel, Lucerna will retain its diverse cultural face, ranging from balls and concerts to the operation of a cinema, restaurants, and cafes.

On Wednesday, a professional conference on the topic of Lucerna Palace - past, present, future will be held at the Lucerna Gallery, featuring a number of experts and architects supporting the nomination of Lucerna for national cultural monument status. Havlová will give a lecture at the conference titled Vision for Future Lucerna. "We expect to learn things at the conference that we do not even know, because many documents were destroyed in the Lucerna fire in the 1970s. The purpose of the conference is to gather new perspectives from experts on Lucerna," Havlová stated.

The unique reinforced concrete structure of the complex, which had only been used for industrial buildings until then, allowed Czech engineer Stanislav Bechyňa to place the largest hall of Lucerna three floors underground. Havel wanted to create a huge underground ice rink based on the model of Berlin. Instead, a social hall was ultimately constructed.

Similarly, today's Lucerna cinema originally served as a theater hall and it even hosted the opera Dalibor. The Art Nouveau palace was the first reinforced concrete building in Prague to feature a roofed and glazed passage, unprecedented in Bohemia at the time. Many significant social events took place in its premises. It also offered housing and housed the Japanese teahouse Yokohama. It also had the first dining automat in Prague, and interested parties could visit a painting and photography studio or a whole range of shops selling artistic items or fashion. More information can be found at www.lucerna.cz.