The competition for the new carousel in Krumlov is delayed by three quarters of a year

Prague - The announcement of the architectural competition for a new design of the open-air theater in the garden of the Český Krumlov Castle is three-quarters of a year late. It was supposed to lead to a new, dismountable structure that would replace the current criticized one by the UNESCO committee by 2015. The delay is allegedly due to poor communication between state representatives and České Budějovice, especially the changes in the position of the Minister of Culture. The delay may be even greater - the caretaker minister Jiří Balvín is likely to leave further proceedings to his successor.
The Ministry of Culture's commission, which deals with the future of the revolving auditorium, agreed in January that its principle would be preserved. However, the turntable must be removable. According to a statement from the Ministry of Culture at that time, this solution was supported by Czech heritage experts and the UNESCO committee, who wanted the turntable removed from the garden by 2015 at the latest. Representatives from the South Bohemian Region, České Budějovice, and Český Krumlov advocated for the modernization of the stage at its current location. Theater visitors also want to keep the turntable in its current place, with thousands of people signing a petition.
A compromise solution with a removable turntable is based on similar examples around the world. A similar solution is used, for example, for theater performances in France at the Neptune Pool of the Palace of Versailles or at the Chambord Castle in the Loire Valley.
Shortly after the commission's decision, the mayor of České Budějovice, Juraj Thoma, said that the architectural competition could be announced in March or April. The city, South Bohemian Region as the theater's founder, together with the National Heritage Institute, repeatedly met the conditions for the announcement of the competition in February and March, said Jiří Šesták, a councilor from České Budějovice, theater director, and senator. "The Ministry of Culture was supposed to align those conditions to make them acceptable for the competition, so the conditions wouldn't diverge. That didn't happen, which is why the city couldn't announce the competition," he added. According to the director of the National Heritage Institute, Petr Pavlec, the conditions were also fulfilled and sent to the Ministry of Culture repeatedly.
The Ministry of Culture stated today that in March it received a plan for the rehabilitation of the Český Krumlov castle garden from the National Heritage Institute. In April, then-Minister Alena Hanáková reached out to the mayor of České Budějovice, stating that she had not yet received the proposal for the architectural competition for the revolving auditorium in Český Krumlov.
"The mayor, in response to this letter (...), stated that he had already sent this document in February, but it apparently ended up somewhere in the tangled web of electronic communication and attached a working document for the Reconstruction of the Revolving Auditorium," spokeswoman for the Ministry of Culture Anna Ješátková told ČTK. In May, both materials were received by members of the ministerial commission for resolving the revolving auditorium, and the then-minister was supposed to set the date for the next meeting. However, Hanáková announced her resignation and did not set a date.
Her successor called the commission for September 24, but representatives of key subjects either apologized or did not confirm their attendance, so the meeting was canceled. According to the spokeswoman, no further meetings have been planned yet. It is likely that the next meeting of the commission will be called only by the new minister after the elections.