<h1>Director of Luhačovice Spa: The failure with UNESCO is a great disappointment</h1>

Luhačovice (Zlínsko) - The failure of the Luhačovice baths, which tried to join other spa towns on the UNESCO cultural heritage list, is seen by the general director of the Luhačovice Spa, Eduard Bláha, as a significant disappointment. He stated this to reporters in Luhačovice. According to him, the spa hoped that being listed as a UNESCO site would bring not only prestige and marketing benefits but also funding for the repair and enhancement of important monuments. The architect Dušan Jurkovič shaped the appearance of the Luhačovice baths. However, now the spa will not have access to funds, and the restoration of the buildings is significantly more expensive due to heritage protection compared to ordinary buildings, Bláha noted.

"Just a year ago, we believed that this would bring us the funds to help with the repair and enhancement of valuable objects, and that it would also justify their heritage protection, which always increases repair costs. We initiated the heritage protection ourselves, and it was assessed that these objects indeed have value; thus, they were confirmed by the Ministry of Culture as protected objects, with the consequence that this obviously limits property rights and the free decision-making of the owner regarding what to do with them, increasing the financial burden of their repair. We thought that this justifies the expectation of funding," Bláha stated.

According to him, it is not possible to obtain funding; the tourism sector, including spa services, has been effectively excluded from almost all possible grants due to a number of recent projects.

Luhačovice had previously attempted to apply for listing on the UNESCO list independently, but eventually withdrew the application. "It was not definitively rejected; the application did not complete the process. It is now a question of whether we will apply on our own," Bláha said. "Now we will rather try to have the state and ministries recognize that when they limit property rights and impose obligations on us, they should participate in it. That we will only bear the costs to the extent customary for the reconstruction and that the state will contribute to the increased expenses," the director said.

Currently, the cities of Karlovy Vary and Mariánské Lázně have a chance to be listed as UNESCO heritage sites. The nomination would be promoted alongside five other European spa towns. Františkovy Lázně also have a chance to be nominated. According to the Ministry of Culture, it has been decided that Luhačovice will not be nominated. They did not reach the highest tiers of the list because they do not sufficiently meet the criteria established for the nomination of major spas in Europe. Czech spas with natural springs are part of the nomination for Significant European Spa Towns. Spas that have been sources of spreading cultural influences related to spa services have been selected. The nomination is a joint activity of seven countries, with the Czech Republic coordinating it.