Prachatice has a new summer cinema for 50 million

Prachatice – Prachatice opened a new summer cinema, which cost about 50 million crowns to build. The original site from 1963 was dilapidated, closed for ten years, and the city had it demolished. The capacity of the new cinema is 350 seats and 150 standing places. It will be operated by the Cultural and Information Services (KIS) of the city, the operational contribution of which will therefore increase by several hundred thousand crowns, said Mayor Martin Malý (Independent) to ČTK. According to the opposition, the summer cinema is not needed in the city, and people are not interested in it. The city hall should have used the money differently, said opposition councilors to ČTK.

"Especially among the middle-aged and older generations, there was nostalgia for the summer cinema, as it had a huge tradition in this city. It screened films from 1963, without interruption for forty-nine years. Entire generations grew up with it. We wanted to build on this tradition; I did not want to be the grave digger of the summer cinema in Prachatice," said the mayor. The works lasted a year, and the first film will be screened today free of charge by the city. In the fall, the construction company will add roofing.

The opposition movement Live Prachatice considers the investment to be disproportionate. "The project is not necessary enough to invest so many millions in it these days. This is the biggest stumbling block. The city leadership does not have a measure: they either do nothing or undertake such large, megalomaniacal projects that cannot be applied in Prachatice. There is no demand here; last year films were screened in the courtyard behind the theater, and the attendance was minimal, with one or two people showing up. It will be very loss-making," said councilor Barbora Koritenská from the movement to ČTK. She believes that screenings could be held, for example, in the historic center on the Parkán. She also dislikes that the operation of the cinema will be expensive.

Councilor Robert Zeman from the opposition movement Pro Prachatice is also critical. "It cost tens of millions, and ten years ago we didn't have two million for a refurbished projector to preserve the essence of a summer cinema so that it could screen films. It could have been done with a cheaper variant, just by not letting the site fall into disrepair. The construction will please many people, but it’s about how much it cost and whether it was necessary," Zeman told ČTK.

According to the mayor, the operation will be "much more economical" than the costs of theater performances from subscriptions funded by KIS. The site has been closed since 2012. The new design was created by the Prague studio Mimosa Architekti, and the city paid 1.2 million CZK for the proposal. The building permit was granted to the city in 2018, but the work was delayed by the pandemic. Demolition of the old cinema began in early last summer.

"We knew the site was at the end of its life, and we said it couldn't be repaired," Malý stated. The site is in the protective zone of the city heritage reserve, which is why there are stone pavements and an access road in the cinema, similar to the use of stone during the renovation of Štěpánčina Park. The paved area of the cinema covers about 3,000 square meters. The site will have covered parts of both the stage and the auditorium.

Prachatice, which has nearly 11,000 residents, has a budget this year with revenues of 292.5 million and expenditures of 379 million crowns. The deficit of 86.5 million is covered by surpluses from previous years' budgets. The city wanted to invest 145.2 million this year.