Railways and the magistrate are debating the declaration of the main train station hall as a monument

Prague - The registration of the new ticket hall of the main train station in Prague in the registry of cultural monuments of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) is based on invalid reasoning and lacks legal grounds, stated today in a joint statement the City Hall of the capital, the Railway Administration, and the Prague Public Transport Company. They consider the actions of the heritage authorities to be unstandardized and to give the impression of being purposefully motivated. They reacted to Wednesday's statement from the Ministry of Culture, which claimed that the ticket hall, which according to this week's published architectural proposal is supposed to be partially demolished, is a cultural monument. The response from the heritage institute is being sought by ČTK.

The registration of the new ticket hall of the main train station as a cultural monument is surprising and occurred literally overnight, the Railway Administration, the City Hall, and the Public Transport Company claim. "Representatives of NPÚ confirmed to us at a meeting just before the announcement of the competitive dialogue that the new ticket hall is not a registered monument," the statement reads. According to them, the Ministry of Culture informed them that it considers the building to be protected only in the final stages of the competitive dialogue for the reconstruction of the station.

The Ministry supported its position with the opinion of the Railway Authority that the ticket hall is an extension of the historic Fant's building. However, after additional documentation was provided, the authority changed its stance and no longer considers the hall an integral part of the Art Nouveau Fant's building, the authors of the statement assert, claiming that the original communication from the Ministry of Culture has lost any justification.

The new ticket hall was previously proposed for declaration as a cultural monument by the NPÚ, but the suggestion was rejected by the Ministry of Culture, the statement notes. It also points out that the building was not registered as a monument in the NPÚ registry until the end of November.

The Railway Administration, the City Hall, and the Public Transport Company argue that the registration in the NPÚ heritage catalog is based on invalid reasoning and lacks legal grounds. According to them, the actions of the heritage authorities are unstandardized and give an impression of being purposefully motivated. "The chaotic and inconsequential actions of the heritage protection authorities do not change the fact that we, as the clients, pointed out the architectural value of the hall as well as the monument-protected entire area during the competitive dialogue. They also reflected this in their proposals," the statement reads.

In the international competition for the transformation of the new hall, the adjacent Vrchlický Gardens, and the design of the planned tram stop in front of the station, the proposal from the Copenhagen studio Henning Larsen Architects was successful. The dominant element of the design is a large wooden structure that is to arch over the new ticket hall towards the Vrchlický Gardens. At the same time, a large part of the hall is to be removed, with the section located under the expressway to be preserved.

The proposal received criticism on social media after its publication, leading to an online petition against it. The petitioners demand the preservation of the hall, designed by architects Jan Bočan, Josef Danda, Alena Šrámková, Jan Šrámek, and Julie Trnková, which they believe is a significant representative of 1970s and 1980s architecture.