Prague will not buy the Jindřišská Tower due to the high price and long lease agreement

Prague - The capital city will not purchase the medieval Jindřišská Tower from the Prague archbishopric, said Prague councillor Adam Zábranský (Pirates) to ČTK today. The reasons are the high price that the church wants for the building, the necessity of expensive repairs, and the long-term lease that the current tenant has until 2044. According to Zábranský, the entire Prague coalition Together (ODS, TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL), Pirates and STAN agreed on rejecting the purchase. The archbishopric demands 100 million crowns for the building, which, according to the councillor, is about twice what the expert appraisal determined. The archbishopric's statement is being sought by ČTK.

The archbishopric offered the Jindřišská Tower in the city center for sale at the end of last year because it deemed it insignificant for believers and primarily a tourist attraction. It also wants to sell the Clara Futura hotel in Dolní Břežany for 308 million crowns. The money obtained from these sales should go to church education.

"Purchasing under the current conditions makes no sense; we agreed on that in the coalition. The price is twice as much as determined by the expert appraisal, and the tower is leased until 2044, which limits future use for the city. Prague City Tourism (PCT) also does not see an opportunity in the purchase," Zábranský said. PCT is a city-owned company responsible for tourism.

According to the councillor, expensive repairs also need to be made to the tower, such as the roof, which the capital would have to pay for. "Prague has a large number of monuments on its shoulders that it must repair, and it does not have an unlimited amount of money," Zábranský said. According to earlier statements from the archbishopric, the tower requires repairs costing between 20 to 30 million crowns.

The councillor will now instruct the officials to prepare a document that will include a resolution stating that the city is not interested in the purchase. The document will then be discussed by the Prague councillors. They will communicate their decision to the archbishopric.

The sale of the tower is part of the church's efforts to improve its management in anticipation of a time when it will stop receiving contributions from the state for its activities. The archbishopric originally offered the tower for sale for 75 million crowns. Later, it increased the price.

The Jindřišská Tower, located at the junction of the street of the same name and Senovážné Square in Prague 1, was originally a bell tower of the neighboring church of St. Henry and St. Kunhuta. It is part of the Prague monument reserve listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The late Gothic tower was built between 1472 and 147