<p>A petition has been created for the declaration of the Žižkov railway station as a monument.</p>

Prague - An association called This is not the developer's (TND) is organizing an online petition for declaring the Cargo Station in Žižkov a monument. The Ministry of Culture has already declared part of the station a cultural monument, but the landowner, which is Czech Railways, has appealed the decision. The members of the association want to submit the petition to the Minister of Culture, who has the final say in the decision regarding the monument designation. At a press conference today, the vice-chairwoman of the association, Helena Benýšková, stated that the petition has so far been signed by about 380 people.
    The station area is planned to be redeveloped by Žižkov Station Development, which is owned by Czech Railways and Sekyra Group. During the redevelopment, the main functionalist building of the station is set to be demolished, around which primarily residential buildings should arise.
    The demolition is also supported by the Prague 3 municipality, where the station is located. The municipality fears that if the building is declared a monument, there will be no money for its renovation. According to the municipality's spokesperson, Jan Sotona, there is a risk that the extensive structure will become a squat and a shelter for the homeless. The municipality also argues that the structure hinders the extension of Olšanská Street.
    However, the association argues that there is no need to demolish the main building, and it can be incorporated into the new project. According to architect Zdeněk Lukeš, who supports the association, Olšanská Street can be routed underground beneath the station building or around it. "This building is unique, it has enormous potential for use," noted Lukeš. According to him, it could house, for example, storage facilities.
     The functionalist building was damaged over the weekend by a cargo train car, which collided with the building during shunting at the station. The case is being investigated by the Railway Inspection. According to Czech Railways, the structure's stability was not compromised. The railways promised that they would repair the building.