The Teplice Snake Baths are again a cultural monument thanks to Zaorálek

Prague/Teplice - The Teplice Snake Spa is once again a cultural monument. Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD) overturned the decision of his predecessor Antonín Staněk (ČSSD), who, shortly before leaving office, removed the status of cultural monument from the deteriorating neoclassical building in the heritage zone of the spa town. Today's information was confirmed to ČTK by the Ministry of Culture, according to its spokesperson Michaela Lagronová, the owner can file an appeal against the current decision. The destroyed site is wanted to be purchased by the city.

The property belongs to entrepreneur Jaroslav Třešňák, who originally planned to repair it and run a spa within it. However, heritage conservationists rejected his reconstruction proposals, as they believed they essentially amounted to the practical demolition of the building and the construction of a new one. At the end of July this year, Minister of Culture Staněk, at the last hours in office, issued a decision contrary to heritage experts and the appeals commission, stating that the Snake Spa was no longer a cultural monument. According to the server, he thus accommodated Třešňák, who was among the largest sponsors of last year's presidential campaign of Miloš Zeman, who was also the biggest supporter of Staněk in the political scene.

After Zaorálek succeeded Staněk as Minister of Culture, he reopened the case and initiated a review of Staněk's decision regarding the spa. According to Lagronová, the owner of the spa sought to halt the review proceedings, but the appeals commission of the Ministry of Culture recommended rejecting this, and the proceedings continued.

On the recommendation of the appeals commission, Zaorálek today issued a decision that the Snake Spa will remain a cultural monument, and thus the owner's request for所谓 desensitization will not be granted, Lagronová stated for ČTK. Zaorálek justified his decision by stating that according to the appeals commission, the heritage zone within which the Snake Spa is located is not sufficient to protect the public interest, and that there are not extraordinarily serious reasons for revoking the cultural monument status of the property under the heritage law.

Třešňák offered the building to the city for 18 million crowns. The Teplice city council approved the intention to purchase the property according to an expert opinion at a price of 6.8 million crowns. "We want to save the spa; now the ball is in Mr. Třešňák's court, who bought it years ago for five million crowns," said Mayor Hynek Hanza (ODS).

The fact that the spa is once again a monument may complicate the reconstruction, according to Hanza, because the current state is protected after three modifications during communism. "That may not be in accordance with any internal layout," Hanza stated. "But it will depend on the National Heritage Institute and our conservationists how far they would allow the investor during the reconstruction of the interior spaces," the mayor told reporters today. "If that protection were not there, the investor would have more leeway," added Hanza. "The building is still in the heritage zone, so the external envelope of the building has never ceased to be protected," stated Hanza. The city estimated the total cost of repairing the Snake Spa at approximately 20 million crowns.

The neoclassical building of the Snake Spa was a cultural monument since 1958, having ceased to serve its original purpose after several reconstructions at the turn of the millennium.