Domažlice will not sell the brewery, they will convert it into a cultural complex

Domažlice - Domažlice will not sell the closed local brewery, whose history dates back to 1341 and is one of the oldest in Europe. In two years, they will convert it into a hall, theater, and gallery for 40 million CZK. In a smaller neighboring building, there will be a microbrewery and restaurant, which the town hall will lease long-term. The lessee of the building will either repair and equip it himself, or the city will also cover the construction costs up to eight million crowns. The brewery will remain permanently city-owned, said Mayor Miroslav Mach to ČTK.
    After a decade of negotiations with various investors, the town hall has now terminated a three-year-old contract with the Prague development company Bohdalecká obchodní, which planned to build a brewery and hotel. The city postponed the issuance of the building permit four times. The company, which was then supposed to acquire the facility for free, according to Mach, even missed the final deadline of June 30.
    By the end of August, the city will have a study on the table being prepared by the Regional Development Agency. The brewery will house a cultural hall, a multifunctional theater, a gallery, and a library. "In the fall, we will apply for 40 million crowns from the European ROP program. The complex will be built within two years," said Mach. Rents from the brewery will fund culture, which will not need city subsidies. The brewery will be a huge promotion for Domažlice, Mach added.
    Three companies are interested in the construction of the brewery and restaurant. One is a group around Pivovarský dvůr Plzeň, and the other is a company from Hradec Králové that supplied cooling systems to the new winter stadium. The microbrewery for eight million CZK will produce 3,000 to 4,000 hectoliters of unpasteurized beer annually. It will only be sold by a local restaurant with 100 seats.
    "We will not sell the brewery to anyone; it will remain permanently city-owned," Mach stated. Production ceased in 1996. Plzeňský Prazdroj took all the equipment away and sold the site to the city. Only the lower three-story building by the road and a five-story building behind it, where the brewery equipment and tanks were, remain.
    The former fermentation cellar will be transformed into a hall for 400 to 500 people, with a theater and gallery above it, and a lookout tower on the chimney. "The complex would certainly be self-sustaining," said Mach. The cultural center would be operated by a non-profit organization.
    The city aims to have it completed by the end of 2010 when it will begin renovating the cultural center near the town hall and cinema on Vodní Street. It will invest 55 million CZK into both buildings, which will be connected. The city will utilize the cellars under the town hall, where they will restore a wine bar and club music stages. The capacity of the hall will remain at 300 seats, while the cinema will be reduced from 400 to half.