Experts: Demolishing the house on Wenceslas Square will violate the law

Prague - The demolition of the building on the corner of Wenceslas Square and Opletalova Street would mean a violation of the law, stated the Institute of Art History of the Czech Academy of Sciences (ÚDU AV ČR) in a statement available to ČTK. The decision not to declare the building a cultural monument was made by the Ministry of Culture (MK) in September; the owner wishes to demolish the building and construct another in its place. However, according to the institute, the ministry did not take the opportunity or the real possibility to effectively protect the object from the threat of demolition.
    "The demolition of the aforementioned building would, in the view of the institute, represent a breach of the applicable legal norm, which is Government Regulation No. 66/1971 on the monument reservation in the capital city of Prague," stated Martin Mádl from the Institute of Art History. According to the institute, the MK also failed to secure the upper section of Wenceslas Square from inappropriate changes.
    The institute's experts are further convinced that the building exhibits historical, cultural, architectural, and urban qualities that justify its declaration as a cultural monument. They also believe that the justification for the decision not to declare the building a monument was not supported by professional authority.
     Whether the MK's decision was in accordance with the law will be evaluated by the appellate commission of the MK. According to the Minister of Culture Alena Hanáková (TOP 09 and STAN), it will also assess whether the decision was sufficiently justified. Thus, the MK will be deciding again about the fate of the building, as the appellate commission will consider the case for the second time. At the time the commission evaluates the decision, the building is subject to heritage protection.
    "The protection of cultural assets should be the main purpose of the ministry's activities," the institute pointed out. The decision of the ministry not to declare the building no. 1601/II a monument is "however, in no way understood as consent to the demolition" of the mentioned building. The Institute has also been joined by the Art History Society, which submitted a proposal to the ministry to declare the building a monument.
    Last year, the heritage department of the magistrate allowed the demolition of the building in the heritage reserve. Although the heritage officials from the Ministry of Culture found their stance to be unlawful and annulled it six months later, it was already too late, as such an action could only be taken within two months. When the investor's intention with the building was made public last year, it prompted dissent from some heritage conservation experts, and there were even demonstrations against the project.