The government will discuss a new investment program for cultural buildings

Prague - A new program aimed at financing repairs and new constructions for public cultural institutions is expected to have nearly eight billion crowns. The relevant institutions are expected to draw from it between 2019 and 2028. The proposal for the Care for National Cultural Heritage I program, which follows a previous similar program, will be discussed by the government on Monday. The largest amount is expected to go to the National Heritage Institute, which is to reconstruct the Invalidovna for approximately one billion crowns. The National Theatre plans to cover the repair of the New Stage from this program, and the National Gallery plans to reconstruct the Trade Fair Palace.

Since 2006, the Care for National Cultural Treasure Program has been in place, from which the reconstruction of historical buildings such as the National Museum, the Museum of Decorative Arts, the State Opera, and the revitalization of Klementinum were financed. Originally, this program, with a ten-billion crown budget, was meant to last until 2014, but it was extended several times. Its utilization has been delayed for years, and politicians also made changes to it, as it originally included funding for a new building for the National Library, which was abandoned. The program is currently valid until 2020 and is to be followed by a new investment program.

The Ministry of Culture has prepared the Care for National Cultural Heritage I program, which specifically accounts for supporting seven national cultural institutions with a total sum of 7.8 billion crowns. The highest amount, nearly 2.5 billion crowns, is expected for the National Heritage Institute, and the National Technical Museum is to draw 1.7 billion crowns. Amounts between half a billion and one billion crowns are earmarked for the National Theatre, the National Museum, the National Gallery, the Museum of Art in Olomouc, and the National Film Archive.

According to the Ministry of Culture, from whose budget the money will come, the years 2019 and 2020 will be dedicated to project preparation, and construction and repairs should take place in the following years. The proposed program includes actions that will help preserve the cultural heritage's heritage values as an integral part of national identity, improve services for the public, increase the tourist attractiveness of the regions, boost visitor potential, and enhance the self-generated income of subsidized organizations, necessary for the operation of the facilities and their further maintenance, the ministry stated.