MKČR proposes the Invalidovna or Lucerna as a national cultural monument

Prague - The Invalidovna in Prague, which the state unsuccessfully attempted to sell last year, is now to be declared a national cultural monument. Along with the baroque building in Karlín, Prague, there are another 15 buildings on the list submitted to the government by the Ministry of Culture on Monday. These include the Lucerna Palace in Prague and the Ďáblice Cemetery, where political prisoners are buried. However, several sacred buildings have been removed from the list of buildings that would enjoy the highest state heritage protection, as opposed to the proposal during the comment procedure.

The original list consisted of 18 items, and included a collection of small structures in the landscape - chapels, shrines, and peace crosses, representative of those selected in the South Bohemian, South Moravian, and Vysočina regions. The proposal also included the pilgrimage church with the Passion route in Římov from the second half of the 17th century, which is considered by experts to be an extraordinary example of baroque architecture linked to the pilgrimage tradition and at the same time contributing to the image of the South Bohemian baroque landscape. The reason for the exclusion of these collections is not clear from the materials presented to the government.

The government declares national cultural monuments; the last time was a collection of nine items in 2015, which included movable heritage such as the Vyšší Brod Cycle, the Madonna from Veveří, the Old Boleslav Palladium, and Gothic paintings.

National cultural monuments constitute the most significant part of the country's cultural wealth and are subject to stricter protection than cultural monuments, of which there are also many more. Similar to cultural monuments, the law regulates their permanent and temporary export abroad as well as their sale. Including the mentioned nine artifacts, the total collection of national cultural monuments now consists of 306 items.

It could be expanded by 16 properties. The first group consists of nine buildings from the first half of the 20th century that document the stylistic plurality of architectural creation during this period. All are works by leading architects. Among them is a secondary school in Mladá Boleslav, showcasing constructivism, expressionism, and art deco, built between 1922 and 1926 according to the design of architect Jiří Kroha.

The City Museum, formerly the Wenke Department Store in Jaroměř, is the work of Josef Gočár; the City Theater in Ústí nad Orlicí was built by Kamil Roškot in the style of organic functionalism; today’s Community Center in Opava, designed by Leopold Bauer, represents the transition from Art Nouveau and modernism to interwar classicism and historicism.

The second group consists of monuments that are either proposed repeatedly or exhibit values that have only recently been sufficiently recognized. This includes the remnants of the Romanesque castle in Cheb, the Blateny water canal, the Ďáblice Cemetery in Prague with the burial site of political prisoners and members of the second and third resistance movements, or the monastery in Louka near Znojmo, one of the most valuable examples of late baroque art in Moravia.

The Prague Invalidovna is a monumental baroque work built according to the plans of Kilián Ignác Dietzenhofer. After years of being unused, the state unsuccessfully attempted to sell it last year; the National Heritage Institute has shown interest in its management. The Lucerna Palace in Prague, associated with the Havel family, bears the features of the waning Art Nouveau and emerging modernism, and is one of the first reinforced concrete buildings in Prague and a well-known cultural center.