Prague will buy the deconsecrated church of St. Simon and Jude for 99.99 million CZK

Prague - Prague will purchase the desecrated church of St. Simon and Jude in the Old Town, which is currently serving as a concert hall for the Symphonic Orchestra of the City of Prague FOK. The city will pay 99.99 million crowns for the monument. City councilor Jan Chabr (TOP 09) informed the Czech Press Agency about the city's leadership decision today. The church is owned by the Czech-Moravian Province of the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of God - Brothers of Charity.

"The church has served as an important cultural venue for years, and Prague has invested significant resources into its maintenance in the past. I am glad that such an important object is moving into the ownership of the capital city, because it will preserve its cultural and social mission, so that it does not meet the same fate as St. Michael’s Church, where at one time there was a club and a brothel," said Chabr. The desecrated St. Michael’s Church, located a short distance from the Old Town Square, was transferred to the National Library in 1984 due to its derelict condition but was not found a use for it. In the 1990s, efforts were made to sell it unsuccessfully, then it was rented out. In 2005, it was sold to a controversial tenant for 46 million crowns.

The original price of St. Simon and Jude Church was 125 million crowns. After long negotiations, the city was offered a discount. According to the document approved by the councilor, the purchase of the church was offered to the city by the owner. According to the contract valid from January 1, 2016, to December 31, 2020, the municipality pays an annual rent of 800,000 crowns. If Prague wishes to dispose of the church in the future, the aforementioned church order will have the right of first refusal, according to Chabr.

The church dedicated to St. Simon the Zealot and the Apostle Jude was built in the 17th century on the site of a Gothic church. The Baroque monument was part of the hospital of the Brothers of Charity. Based on the contract, the church has been managed by the Symphonic Orchestra of the City of Prague FOK long-term.