Praha 8 has approached the owner of the Svět Palace and wants to negotiate the future of the monument

Prague - The leadership of Prague 8 has reached out to the owner of the dilapidated Svět Palace in Libeň and wants to negotiate the future of the building with him. They would like to receive information from the owner, possibly a schedule of works on how he plans to deal with the palace. At the same time, they want to agree on how the municipality could potentially contribute to the restoration. This follows from a letter from Deputy Mayor Radomír Nepil (ANO), which is available to ČTK. The owner of the heritage-protected building is Italian entrepreneur Antonio Crispino, with whom the city district has unsuccessfully tried to negotiate in the past.

The palace, most famously associated with writer Bohumil Hrabal, was built in the 1930s and is a cultural monument. However, it has been deteriorating for decades, and the owner previously demolished the automat Svět, which Hrabal visited with friends and about which he wrote.

"We have been watching the developments around the Svět Palace with concern for some time now. The citizens are especially sensitive to the preserved state of this significant property. We have received dozens of inquiries about what will happen next, and appeals to resolve the situation. Unfortunately for them (the residents), we do not have any satisfactory answers," stated Nepil.

According to the deputy mayor, the palace is an iconic building for Libeň, and therefore he asks the owner for information on what he intends to do with the building. Nepil offered a personal meeting to the Italian owner along with his colleagues. During this meeting, he would like to hear the owner's plans. "Ideally, a schedule of planned repairs would be of course the most helpful," he writes. The owner has a building permit for the palace valid until the end of 2026. At the same time, the municipality is prepared to assist with the repairs within its possibilities, as it will be a technically and financially demanding investment.

From the standpoint of the building authority, the structure does not pose a threat to the surroundings, and the building authority of Prague 8 is currently powerless. Conservationists still have valid conditions for the repair of the interior of the building, which they insist upon. The restoration of the palace has been discussed since 2006, when the municipality approved a reconstruction study. However, since then, the repairs have not progressed significantly, and the municipality has previously fined the owner, among other measures.

The Svět Palace was built by architect František Havlena between 1932 and 1934. The reinforced concrete building was named after entrepreneur Ladislav Svět, who commissioned it. The complex consists of a residential and commercial building with two basements that house a cinema. The first floor contained a restaurant, café, and gaming hall. In 2002, the building was damaged by flooding. Since 2003, the complex has been a cultural monument.