The MPs want information from the office about its steps concerning the sale of Štiřín

Prague – Members of the parliamentary control committee are demanding detailed information from the Office for Representation of the State in Property Affairs regarding all actions the office has taken concerning the Štiřín castle since last June, when it began managing it. According to the members, the office did not inform them, despite their request made as early as last May. The director of the office, Kateřina Arajmu, disagreed, and instead listed the number of times she has sent them information since then. The castle served, among other functions, as a conference center and includes an extensive park with a golf course.

The office took over the Štiřín castle in Kamenice near Prague on June 1 of last year from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which no longer needs the premises. No state institution expressed interest in the property within the stipulated time frame, so the property office began preparing for the sale of the castle. The director confirmed today that the office plans to sell the castle as a whole. "And the reason for selling it as a whole, rather than in parts, is simple: the crucial point is that the property has, from the perspective of engineering networks, effectively only one source," she said to the members. The premises have one source of water, gas, and one wastewater treatment plant, she described. Only purely commercial activities, primarily the golf course, are to be directed to auction.

According to the director, an exception will be made for a part of the forested land, which the office must leave to the state as required by forestry law. The state-owned company Lesy ČR is set to take over these lands. The cadastral office determined that certain areas are not forest but permanent grassland. Arajmu also stated that the vacant premises cost 600,000 crowns per month, with the largest portion of that being maintenance of the golf course.

Some members of parliament were not in favor of selling the complex as a whole. For instance, Romana Bělohlávková (KDU-ČSL) called this necessity strange. She referred to the premises as a family silver that should neither be sold nor pawned. According to MP Vít Vomáčka (ODS), some committee members do not like the idea of the castle ending up elsewhere than in state or municipal ownership.

Mayor of Kamenice Pavel Čermák (independent) told the members that the municipality would be interested in one of the buildings that served as accommodation, which has a civil protection shelter underneath it and which the municipality would use as a kindergarten. He emphasized that the municipality of Kamenice wants to keep the park accessible. He is not in favor of selling the complex as a whole. He disagreed with the argument regarding a single water source and pointed out that the entire area is surrounded by places where a water supply exists.

In the past, there have been several discussions about selling the premises, which also include the golf course and ponds. These discussions emerged during the tenure of Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg (TOP 09) due to austerity measures. Later, privatization was proposed by then Finance Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO). Subsequently, when he held the position of Prime Minister, he backed away from the plan, justifying it by stating that the number of events held at Štiřín has significantly increased and it is also open to the public year-round. At the end of the previous electoral term of the Chamber of Deputies, the effort to transfer the founding role of the contributory organization Štiřín Castle from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Chamber ultimately failed, although it had the support of the majority of members.