The authorities are preparing the ground for the expropriation of land in the Ležáky memorial

Ležáky (Chrudimsko) - Authorities are gradually preparing the ground for the expropriation of part of the land in the area of the Ležáky memorial. It belongs to a private owner; however, after many years of negotiation, the state has not managed to reach an agreement with her regarding its purchase. The regional office now wants to call on the owner in an administrative proceeding to ensure care for the national cultural monument on her land.
    For many years, the Lidice Memorial maintained the entire area at its own expense, even on foreign land, which constitutes about half of the memorial site. However, in 2012, the owner prohibited access to her land, and therefore, the Ministry of Culture decided in 2013 that the state would not take care of the private land. However, before the memorial event, the ministry ultimately backed down and ordered the area to be restored.
    "Expropriation is the last and final option if it is not possible to ensure that the owner maintains the monument," said Tomáš Libánek from the culture and heritage care department of the regional office to ČTK.
    According to Milouš Červencl, director of the Lidice Memorial, which manages the area, expropriation is probably the only way to end the long-standing dispute over the land. The court could set a different price than the expert appraisal, which could approach the owner's demand and could differ from the official expert opinion that the state organization must follow. The state is currently offering just under a million crowns for the land, while the owner demands about ten times that amount. A court decision would be binding for both parties in the dispute.
    "We can document in writing that we and the municipality of Miřetice are taking care of the memorial area, not the owner. We will quantify the costs, and the regional office can eventually claim it from the owner. For me, what is important is that something has finally moved," Červencl told ČTK.
    The Ležáky memorial site was declared a national cultural monument on June 16, 1999. The lands returned to private hands during the restitutions in the first half of the 1990s. The state has never paid rent for them. A few years ago, the owner was offered a lease agreement, but she refused it and insisted on selling. According to Červencl, the state made a mistake during the restitution when it returned lands that were cultural monuments and did not address the situation.