Ministerstvo must once again address the heritage protection of the Prague-Petrovice castle

Brno - The Ministry of Culture must once again deal with the proposal to revoke the heritage protection of the dilapidated castle in Petrovicích in the municipal district of Prague 10. The Supreme Administrative Court (NSS) upheld the cassation complaint of the owner of the inaccessible baroque building. The owner claims, based on an expert assessment, that the buildings have irreparably damaged structural integrity. The authorities insisted that the castle could still be saved. The current decision is temporarily accessible on the official board.

The NSS pointed out that the only comprehensive and expert evaluation of the current condition of the building was presented in the proceedings by its owner. It follows that the building cannot be safely reconstructed. The authorities countered with "only brief and unsupported opinions, which state the opposite without any more detailed analysis and without any supporting documents."

The decisions of the administrative bodies thus have no support in the file. "Subsequently, the municipal court also erred in the contested judgment by approving this approach of the administrative bodies," emphasized the NSS. Therefore, it annulled both the judgment of the municipal court and the ministerial decision on the appeal. The minister should now make a new decision regarding the appeal.

The Ministry originally did not approve the proposal to revoke the heritage protection, referring to the stance of the National Heritage Institute and the municipal heritage care department. Although the buildings are in poor technical condition according to heritage experts, they exhibit a number of preserved artistic and artisanal elements not only in the decoration of the facades.

The castle stands on the site of a former fortress. It dates back to the first third of the 18th century. In the past, it belonged to chemist Nicolas Bellot, co-founder of the company Sellier & Bellot. During the First Republic, the entire complex was purchased by the Danner family, whose descendants then acquired the castle through restitution. Under communist rule, the complex served the state farm and fell into disrepair, which continued even after 1989.