The villa in Petřiny is a monument, as yet not legally binding

Prague - The Ministry of Culture has declared the functionalist villa in Petřiny, Prague, a cultural monument, which its owner had planned to demolish. A new house is to be built in its place. According to information from ČTK, the owner has appealed against the decision of the ministry's heritage department. Neither the ministry nor the owner want to comment on the information provided by ČTK, as the decision is not yet final.

Last November, the owner covered the house with a black tarp in protest against the authorities' actions. If the house is damaged due to the tarp placement, the owner risks a fine from the heritage conservators.

"We issued a decision in the matter, but it is not final because the participant in the proceedings has appealed against this decision. The appeal will be handled by a second instance, and the verdict will be issued by the Minister of Culture after the review by the appeal committee," said ministry spokesperson Simona Cigánková to ČTK.

"A final decision has not yet been made; until then, the owner will not comment, and once it is, a press statement will be issued," said Michal Donath, the media representative of the house owner, to ČTK today.

The apartment villa on Na Petřinách street from 1939 is attributed by some sources to architect Pavel Simonov. "The building permit lists architect Václav Všetička as the author and authorized builder," stated Donath.

The current owner wants to replace it with a new building, and last year, Prague 6 granted him permission to demolish it. At that time, the villa was not protected as a monument. However, local residents disagreed and called on politicians to save the villa. The owner allegedly called on the Prague 6 council to buy the villa during a council meeting last June. The council spokesperson, Martin Churavý, told ČTK at that time that the council would not do so. Donath stated today that the owner did not make a request to the council to buy the villa. City councilor for the Green Party Antonín Nechvátal submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Culture last year to declare the villa a cultural monument.

In November, the owner covered the house with a black tarp, claiming it was to protest against the actions of the authorities, where one permitted the house to be removed while another, according to him, attempts to declare it a monument, limiting his property rights. If the property is declared a cultural monument, it cannot be demolished.

According to the magistrate, covering the house damaged the villa and violated the monument care law. While the ministry decides on potential monument protection of the building, the owner must treat it as if it were already protected. According to heritage officials, the owner did not adhere to this. Furthermore, according to the law on state monument care, he was required to inform the authorities of his intention to place the tarp on the house. According to Donath, the house owner complied with this requirement. Jiří Skalický, director of the Prague magistrate's heritage department, told ČTK today that the department ordered the owner to provide access to the house so it could be assessed whether the property was damaged by the tarp placement.

According to Skalický's earlier statements, "the installation of a supporting system of steel cables, dowels drilled and embedded into the facade, and hooks installed in them, along with tensioning devices, caused a destructive impact on the facade of the building, its disruption, and subsequent degradation." Skalický also previously stated that this is a villa of considerable architectural value and its preservation would be desirable. However, the house is not located in a heritage zone and was not a cultural monument at the time of the demolition application, so objections to its removal could not be raised under the monument care law.