The renovation of the park in Karlovo náměstí in Prague is set to begin in 2020

Prague - The renovation of the park at Karlovo náměstí in Prague's New Town is set to begin in 2020 and will last for two years. By this September, a design proposal for the square will be completed and a team selected to prepare it, stated Kateřina Glacnerová from the Institute of Planning and Development (IPR) to ČTK. The so-called competitive dialogue, in which designers collaborate, was initiated last summer and involved 14 landscape architecture studios, from which the city selected five. The reconstruction of the park is estimated to cost 300 million crowns.

In April, the individual teams will bring their first proposals to Prague. After extensive discussion, they will modify them, and in September an international commission will select the winning proposal and team.

In addition to the park, the spaces around the edge of the square will also be modified. Currently, the intersection at the mouth of Resslova Street is being addressed. There should be added crossings in the direction from the Czech Technical University (ČVUT) to the shopping center. However, the modifications have been accompanied by long-standing disagreements, such as objections from the police. "In January of this year, an agreement was successfully reached," Glacnerová stated. The Technical Road Administration (TSK), which will carry out the modifications, is now applying for a building permit.

The square was partially modified in previous years. In 2015, the reconstruction of the tram tracks and adjacent sidewalks was completed, followed by the repair of intersections and crossings. The park was last modified in 1998 near the New Town Hall. At that time, environmentalists and residents of Prague 2 protested against the felling of trees.

Karlovo náměstí, formerly known as the Cattle Market, is the largest square in the Czech Republic, covering an area of 80,550 square meters, and one of the largest in Europe. It measures 510 meters in length and 130 meters in width. In the center of the square stood a circular chapel of the Holy Body since 1300, which displayed the imperial coronation jewels and was demolished in 1791.