The Czech Republic can draw up to 11 billion from the EU for the restoration of monuments, museums, and libraries

Svatá Hora near Příbram

Sázava - The Czech Republic can draw up to 11 billion crowns from the European Regional Development Fund for cultural heritage until 2020. In the second funding period of the Integrated Regional Operational Program (IROP), which started in 2014, 99 projects worth approximately 5.3 billion crowns are already being implemented. This was stated today by the Deputy Minister for Regional Development Zdeněk Semorád. Selected monuments, museums, and libraries can apply for funding in the field of cultural heritage.

Semorád mentioned that 99 supported projects are at various stages of development. Some have not yet completed the contractor selection process, others are already in progress, and some smaller projects are nearing completion. "Another 80 monument projects are in the evaluation process, sharing an additional three billion crowns. We estimate that the funds will be sufficient for 40 to 50 more projects," Semorád said at a press conference held by the Ministry for Regional Development as part of the annual IROP conference. According to him, museums can apply for funding until January of next year, while the application period for libraries will end at the end of this year.

For a monument to be eligible for funding in this program, it must be on the UNESCO list or on the list of national cultural monuments, or on the indicative list, which includes candidates for the status of cultural monument. In the case of museums, according to Semorád, they must be institutions that had at least 30,000 visitors each year in the previous three years. Libraries established by the region or the state can also apply for funding.

The largest volume of funding is directed specifically to the revitalization of monuments on the indicative list, examples include the Spa Luhačovice or Žatec, where reconstructed buildings related to brewing and hop production are emerging. Significant amounts from IROP will also be allocated to the project for the restoration of the St. Procopius area in Sázava, which received a grant of 101 million, the project Old Boleslav - the cradle of Czech statehood, which aims to restore the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and adjacent buildings and was supported with 98.7 million crowns, or the revitalization of Kost Castle, for which the ministry allocated 75 million.

In the first funding period from 2007 to 2013, the ministry had five billion crowns available from the European Union for cultural heritage, which successfully restored 109 monuments, including the monastery in Broumov and Svatá Hora near Příbram.