The artists' houses on Kraví hora in Brno will not be vacated for now, but they cannot enter them

Brno - Artists in the former military area at Kraví hora in Brno will not vacate the building for now. They want to review the official notice. However, they are not allowed to enter, as a sign prohibiting entry has been added. Radovan Přikryl, a representative of the community, told ČTK today. Artists were supposed to leave the so-called likusáky by today, a notice they received from the city leadership earlier this week, which, according to the spokesperson for the city hall, Filip Poňuchálek, is merely fulfilling the building authority's requirement.

Likusáky are approximately 80-year-old wooden houses, around 20 of which are located at Kraví hora near the observatory, six belong to the city, and the rest to the Czech Technical University. The building authority's notice does not pertain to these, although according to Přikryl, they are in practically the same technical condition. A community of about 300 artists, visual artists, sculptors, and musicians has been functioning in the likusáky for several years.

"This week a sign prohibiting entry to unauthorized persons was added, so no one is entering for now. The question is who is an unauthorized person, whether it is the tenant who has equipment there," said Přikryl. According to him, nothing is happening today, and nothing will happen. The artists want to obtain materials from the city on the basis of which the building authority made the notice. However, these are not available yet. "Once we have them—and they promised to provide them to us—we will have them assessed. We will definitely get our own expertise," stated Přikryl.

The building authority acted based on a local investigation on October 24, 2023, and sent the notice to the city hall on February 5, as stated in the document previously provided by Poňuchálek to ČTK. The statement mentions that the notice was received by the city hall on the afternoon of Monday, February 19. According to the building authority, the buildings are unfit for use. "They are not constructed in compliance with currently applicable legal regulations and standards regarding their fire safety requirements," states the document, which calls for an immediate prohibition of entry. Přikryl noted that logically, hundreds of historic buildings would not pass current regulations. Nevertheless, he added that the authority has invited the owner to ensure modifications that would allow for use by the end of May. "This is nothing significant and is solvable. But I have the impression that the city leadership does not want to find a solution," said Přikryl. He previously mentioned that if only a portion of the artists had to leave, it would mean the collapse of a community that cannot be relocated elsewhere. He also said it is not feasible for the buildings to be vacated by Sunday. There are items worth hundreds of thousands of crowns inside.

Poňuchálek previously stated that the city is seeking a solution to meet the building authority's requirements concerning the tenants. "The city wants to support the creative sector, and we will look for alternative spaces, but this is not a simple task. (...) Likusáky have never been approved for use and were not intended for the purposes for which they are used today. The area where they are located has long been designated in the urban plan as public greenery," Poňuchálek stated.