MK has not yet decided on the Žižkov Freight Station

Prague - The Ministry of Culture has not yet decided on the appeal against the designation of the Nákladové nádraží Žižkov as a cultural monument. Today, a group of lawyers from the so-called appeal commission of the ministry discussed the appeal by the property's owner, České dráhy. After a long discussion, the meeting was interrupted, as they want to request additional materials. This was stated to ČTK by the spokesman for the Ministry of Culture, Stanislav Brunclík.
    Further discussions among the lawyers on this matter are expected at the beginning of April. Ultimately, the decision on the declaration or non-declaration of the functionalist building of the station and its surroundings will be made by the Minister of Culture Jiří Besser (for TOP 09).
     České dráhy, the developer, the municipal preservation department, and the Prague 3 city hall do not agree with the functionalist building of the station becoming a cultural monument. "We are afraid that it will become the largest squat in Europe," said Jan Sotona, spokesman for the Prague 3 city hall, to ČTK. If the building becomes a cultural monument, there will supposedly be no funds for its renovation, and it will be difficult to find a use for it. Sotona added that Prague 3 has a statement from České dráhy, which wants to cease security for the property after it ends its activities at the station. "It will be unmanageable, the police will not be able to handle it," Sotona added, stating that the security risk will increase in the center of the district.
    The station area is planned to be redeveloped by Žižkov station development, owned by České dráhy and Sekyra Group. The redevelopment will involve demolishing the main functionalist building of the station, around which mainly residential buildings are expected to rise.
    In contrast, people from the association called Tady není developerovo (TND) wish to preserve the station building. Recently, they organized an online petition for the declaration of Nákladové nádraží Žižkov as a monument.
    The Ministry of Culture declared part of the station a cultural monument in December, but the landowner, which is České dráhy, appealed against the decision. Members of the association want to present the petition to the Minister of Culture, who has the final say in deciding on the monument designation.
    The main building, the adjacent gatehouses, and the fencing should become the monument. The main U-shaped building consists of an administrative part along Jana Želivského street and two wings of the transfer station. The wings of the building are connected only at the basement level; on the surface, they appear as separate buildings.
    The main functionalist building was recently damaged by a freight train car that collided with the building during shunting at the station. The railways promised to repair the building.