The Gočár Mills in Pardubice have found a buyer

Interested parties could submit bids until last week. There were several. Some only offered a price, while others spontaneously outlined how they would manage the area. They had to pay a deposit of half a million crowns. However, the owner of the area, GoodMills, does not wish to disclose any further details about the future transaction.

The area has been abandoned for about two and a half years. The Austrian company offered the mills to the city, but the representatives repeatedly rejected the purchase. The company then turned to the auction company. If the winner signs the purchase agreement, the future owner must pay the proposed amount within 60 days, according to the sales conditions.

The city originally wanted to establish a cultural-educational center in the mills. One of the main arguments against the city purchasing the monument was the possibility of only a low subsidy in relation to the costs. The subsidy could reach a maximum of five million euros (approximately 136 million crowns), but a prerequisite is that it must be filled with cultural activities by 80 percent. Reconstruction and equipment costs could be estimated at up to 400 million crowns.

The area is a significant landmark in the center of Pardubice, located on the right bank of the Chrudimka River. It is characterized by exposed masonry. The mills are an industrial building that is a typical representative of Czech architectural modernism before World War I.

Gočár designed the mills for brothers Egon and Karel Winternitz. They were built between 1909 and 1911. In the 1920s, a new silo was added, connected to the older part by a bridge. Some parts of the buildings are adorned with attics that resemble castle battlements. In the 1960s, the left riverside wing was extended with a four-story annex.