EU ministers should also discuss the renovation of the Imperial Baths in K.Vary

Karlovy Vary - The renovation of the Imperial Baths in Karlovy Vary will be the topic of the informal meeting of the Council of Ministers for Regional Development of the EU, which will take place on April 23 and 24 in Mariánské Lázně. This point was intended to be presented to the participants of the so-called ministerial meeting by the leadership of the Karlovy Vary region, which owns the historic building. Governor Josef Novotný told reporters today that he wants to advocate for its preservation using EU funds.
    The region had previously asked the Ministry for Regional Development to address the issue of the Imperial Baths at the Mariánské Lázně meeting. Now, Minister Cyril Svoboda has officially promised the region this, stated the governor. The region intends to offer the building to the EU as a detached workplace for one of its institutions. Whether it would be, for example, a branch of the European Investment Fund or the European Investment Bank, the governor noted.
    Furthermore, he mentioned that the region would envision an official resolution being adopted in which the participants of the meeting of ministers for regional development would support the reconstruction of the baths with financial support from the EU. As Novotný pointed out, a specific proposal for the document is still being worked on. The Karlovy Vary region cannot embark on the restoration of the Imperial Baths by itself, as the estimated costs exceed 750 million crowns, and this may not even be the final figure.
    To gain the ministers' support for its plan, the program of their event also includes a tour of the building. Currently, the documentation required for the zoning decision is being prepared. Novotný anticipates that it will be completed this autumn. It is being prepared by the firm Intar Brno, which would then also prepare other documents necessary for issuing a building permit. This phase, which will last at least two years, will cost the region about 42 million crowns.
    The Imperial Baths were created according to Vienna architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer in 1895. The Karlovy Vary region wanted to create a multipurpose hall as well as a representative exhibition for the regional museum in the building. There were also plans to create facilities for the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra near the building. The region's original project also envisioned that the building would serve the needs of the international film festival. "All options are still valid. They do not exclude the intention to offer part of the building to the EU," added the governor.