Prague 6 wants to establish a music school in the grounds of Veleslavín Castle

Prague - The Prague 6 City Hall wants to place a basic art school (ZUŠ) in the Veleslavín Castle and possibly collaborate with the capital city to establish additional facilities for community or cultural purposes there. The city district will negotiate this with the city council. Representatives of Prague 6 communicated this to the press today. The city district would like to move the ZUŠ from the primary school in Břevnov.

Recently, the Ministry of Culture expressed interest in the castle building, with which the city council is negotiating. Last year, the state attempted to sell the castle, but the Ministry of Culture withdrew the necessary consent.

The ZUŠ Jana Hanuše currently resides in the building of the J. A. Komenský primary school, which, according to a demographic analysis of the city district, expects an increase in students of more than 50 percent and needs space. Additionally, the number of students at the ZUŠ has gradually doubled, and the existing facilities are insufficient. If moved to the campus, studios and a dance, music, and theater hall could be created there, said school director Miroslav Tengler. The city district would also solve the problem of capacity at the Břevnov primary school.

The mayor of Prague 6, Ondřej Kolář (TOP 09), stated that the use of the campus as a local center for Prague residents is logical and that no one has come up with any other specific proposal yet. He also mentioned that the city district does not want to take over the entire castle because it lacks the funds for it, and the reconstruction should primarily be financed by the city council or possibly the ministry. The founder of the ZUŠ is also the capital city, not the city district.

The castle complex, along with several other buildings, is owned by the state and managed by the Office for Representation of the State in Property Affairs (ÚZSVM), which wanted to sell it at auction last year. The Ministry of Culture stated that it would find a use for it and is now negotiating a possible transfer. This would be a legally simpler solution than transferring it to Prague, as the ÚZSVM can directly transfer property to state entities.

The city council is negotiating with the ministry about the use of the campus. According to the councilor for property, Jan Chabra, a solution is being considered whereby the Ministry of Culture would take over the castle and subsequently rent part of it to the capital city under favorable conditions, which would in turn contribute to the reconstruction. "I have requested a meeting with the minister, and we should meet within a few weeks," the councilor told ČTK. Kolář mentioned today that he has scheduled a meeting with all interested parties for February 27.

The public auction of the castle was originally announced for November 30 last year, with a starting price of 382 million crowns. Until then, a private health care provider operated in the complex, whose contract expired. After the ministry disabled the auction plan, the ÚZSVM gradually announced three tender procedures for renting the castle. No one applied for the first two; the third is now announced.

The castle, with its historical park that spans three hectares, dates back to around 1725. It was built according to the plans of Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer for Empress Amálie of Brunswick. It was last reconstructed in 1986. The ÚZSVM took over the baroque castle from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in 2015.