The Zlín Region will participate in the renovation of the prison in Uherské Hradiště

Zlín - The Zlín Region will participate in the restoration of the former prison in Uherské Hradiště. Today, the representatives approved the participation of the regional government in a memorandum of cooperation regarding the future use of the building. The region is ready to cooperate in the establishment of a future museum of totalitarian regimes. Uherské Hradiště shares the same interest, and according to the mayor and regional representative Stanislav Blaha (ODS), the city will discuss the memorandum in the future.

Originally, the Ministry of Finance was supposed to be among the signatories of the memorandum, but according to Blaha, it will ultimately not be among the partners. The memorandum is set to be signed by the ministries of culture and justice, the Uherské Hradiště district court, the Office for the Representation of the State in Property Affairs (ÚZSVM), as well as the mentioned Uherské Hradiště city hall and the Zlín Region. All present regional representatives voted in favor of participation except for three communists who abstained.

The memorandum was prepared by the ÚZSVM following a visit in May by Minister of Finance Andrej Babiš (ANO) and Minister of Culture Daniel Herman (KDU-ČSL) to Uherské Hradiště. During the tour of the prison, Babiš promised to find funding for the reconstruction of the prison. After the renovation, there should be a memorial to the victims of communism, and the complex should become the seat of state institutions led by the district court, which currently manages the prison.

The Ministry of Justice recently deemed the building unnecessary. According to chairwoman Hana Kurfiřtová, the district court will agree to the transfer of the complex to ÚZSVM following the promise of the prison's renovation and its use for the court as well. Reconstruction costs are estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of crowns, with figures ranging from 300 million to a billion.

According to Babiš, the ÚZSVM should prepare a new study for the use of the former prison, which would consider the placement of institutions as well as a memorial. The Minister of Finance stated that the source of funding for the renovation could be known by the end of the year.

The correctional facility in the city center accepted its first delinquents shortly after its establishment at the end of the 19th century. It became known mainly for the cruel methods used by investigators of the communist State Security against political prisoners in the 1950s. The prison served its purpose until 1960. The building was subsequently used for offices and storage, and then it became empty and fell into disrepair.

Other plans for its use did not materialize, including an idea from the 1990s to restore the prison and create a judicial complex. The city hall then attempted to reclaim the building from the ministry, but unsuccessfully. The property is currently managed by the district court, which uses part of it for the storage of files.