Dietrichsteinová succeeded in the dispute with Mikulov, the court awarded the family ownership of the tomb

Břeclav - Mercedes Dietrichstein today succeeded with her lawsuit in the dispute with Mikulov in the Břeclav region, as the district court awarded ownership of the Dietrichstein family tomb. The Dietrichsteins lost it after World War II. Since the 1990s, the tomb has been owned by Mikulov, which invested tens of millions of crowns in its restoration at the turn of the century. The court's decision is not final, and the parties can appeal it. Mikulov's mayor Jitka Sobotková (ANO) declined to comment to ČTK on the spot.

The dispute has lasted for years. The Břeclav District Court previously dismissed Mercedes Dietrichstein's restitution claim in 2015, where she sought the return of the family tomb, five other buildings in the city, and about 200 plots of land from the Mikulov municipality. The appellate regional court in Brno confirmed the district court's judgment two years later, with the exception of the Dietrichstein family tomb. In this respect, the matter was returned to the district court for reconsideration. According to the appellate court, the district court should have addressed whether the right to revoke ownership was stronger or if there was a violation of the right to family and private life in the case of the tomb. The district court sided with Dietrichstein today in this matter.

The property of the plaintiff's father, Alexander Dietrichstein, was confiscated by the Czechoslovak state immediately after World War II. The government argued that he was a member of Henlein's Sudeten German Party (SdP). Dietrichstein did not actively oppose the seizure of the property. However, according to Judge Hana Dobišarová, the confiscation of this property resulted in the violation of fundamental human rights, as the state could not own this specific property due to its character. She cited that it is similar to the state confiscating someone's grandmother's grave.

The legal representative of Mikulov, Jiří Petřík, pointed out that the plaintiff's father did not resist the confiscation of his property. "All of his property was confiscated, and the court cannot go beyond the limits of the law," Petřík pointed out. He added that the plaintiff herself had not invested a single koruna into the tomb in the past 30 years, while the defendant improved it when the city took over the property in the 1990s in a dilapidated state, as were the remains of the plaintiff's ancestors.

Dietrichstein was not present in court. According to her legal representative Magdalena Dvořáková Cilínková, the protection of the plaintiff's right to privacy and family life was compromised in this matter, and returning the tomb is not an evasion of restitution laws. "The defendant (Mikulov) claims that it contributed to the improvement of the tomb, that it was the one who invested in it, that it took care of it. But if the plaintiff owned the tomb, she would have invested in it as well. However, she was not allowed to do so," Dvořáková Cilínková stated. After the court's decision, she told ČTK that the plaintiff would certainly be extremely pleased with the outcome of the proceedings, but according to her, it is likely that Mikulov will appeal the verdict and the parties will meet again at the regional court. Mikulov's mayor Jitka Sobotková (ANO) declined to comment when asked by ČTK, and Petřík mentioned that the city would consider filing an appeal.

The tomb of the former owners of the Mikulov estate is a cultural monument; the city invested tens of millions of crowns in its restoration at the turn of the millennium. It was created in the 18th century on the foundations of the burned church of St. Anne.

The Dietrichsteins were among the most significant noble families in Moravia for several centuries. Alexander Dietrichstein (1899 to 1964) lost his family property after the war based on Beneš decrees. According to his daughter, this happened unlawfully. The Břeclav court previously concluded that the confiscation was justified.