The museum will move into the unused houses in the center of Prague

Prague - The long-unused block of town hall buildings in the Little Square in Prague will be occupied by the Museum of Applied Arts (UPM) starting in August, which is renovating its own offices. Prague will lend the museum space in the historically valuable buildings until a permanent use can be found for them. Non-profit organizations might also find temporary headquarters at the same address in an attractive location in the city center. Prague is negotiating, for example, with scouts, said Councilor for Property Eva Vorlíčková (TOP 09) in an interview with ČTK.
    "This is a great help and goodwill from the city council for the museum," said UPM director Helena Koenigsmarková. Among other things, the museum wants to maintain the services of a specialized library. However, the town hall buildings will not serve as exhibition space. "We have at least secured exhibition space for part of the collection at the Municipal House," she added. The construction of the museum's central depository should be completed next year, while the reconstruction of the main building is planned for 2017. UPM will pay 600,000 crowns annually for the rental of 800 square meters in the historic buildings.
    The block of town hall buildings, which has been empty for years, is located right next to the Old Town Hall. It also includes the historic House At the Minute, which offers a view directly onto the Old Town Square. Originally, this was the seat of municipal officials, who moved in 2006 to the rented Škodův Palace. For twenty years of use, Prague committed to pay more than four billion crowns. The current city leadership is in court with the owners over the rent.
    A use for the deteriorating buildings has yet to be found. Prague was bound by a contract for several years with fashion designer Blanka Matragi, who won a selection process years ago and wanted to renovate the buildings. However, the plan fell through, said Radek Svoboda, head of the city property department, to ČTK. The city has so far only rented out non-residential spaces on the ground floor, which include a restaurant and bistro. It is further preparing a project in which luxury apartments should be created in the buildings. However, conservationists are concerned about the fate of the already damaged buildings.
    The idea of building apartments in the town hall buildings came from the previous political leadership. They planned an investment of about 900 million crowns. Prague has already paid 50 million crowns for the project documentation.