Děčín began converting the ruin of the Atlantik building into a library

Děčín - The Děčín City Hall has started the reconstruction of the ruin of the Atlantik building into a city library. The spokesperson for the Děčín City Hall, Romana Silvarová, told ČTK today that readers will start using it around the end of 2011. The construction of the library will cost 168 million crowns, most of the money will be covered by the city hall thanks to European subsidies.
    The Děčín City Hall will now partially demolish the Atlantik; the new construction will only use a part of the original building. One of the first steps the builders have to take is the removal of the statue of a swimmer, which the residents of the city call the desperate communist. The company is reportedly planning to start the actual construction next year.
    According to Silvarová, the new building will not serve only as a library. There will also be a city information center, refreshments, public restrooms, and spaces where cultural or educational events can take place.
    After the completion of the new library, space will be freed in the town hall building, which is currently serving readers. The city leadership is planning that a new meeting hall for the city council, equipped with technology for voting or recording audio and video of the council meetings, could be established there. Currently, council members meet in the cultural house Střelnice, which is on the opposite bank of the Elbe River from the city hall building.