The Karlovy Vary Hotel Thermal will not be a monument, the ministry has decided

Karlovy Vary/Praha - The Ministry of Culture will not declare the Karlovy Vary hotel Thermal a monument. Petr Kulhánek (KOA), the mayor of Karlovy Vary, told ČTK today. The state-owned hotel, which awaits renovation, will thus not be subject to stricter oversight of construction modifications. The minister's step is opposed by the granddaughter of one of the building's authors, Věra Machoninová, Marie Kordovská, who represents the architect in the media.

The city was one of the entities that suggested the Ministry of Culture classify the hotel, built in the brutalist style, among cultural monuments. The ministry informed the magistrate of its decision today.

"By not declaring the Thermal hotel a cultural monument, the Minister of Culture has prioritized his political interests over the cultural values that he is supposed to protect. Since Thermal is state property, I consider the minister's decision a neglect of his duties," Kordovská told ČTK today. She believes that the architecture of the Thermal hotel helps the Karlovy Vary festival promote Czech culture abroad. "All it needs is a quality renovation under the supervision of an excellent architect, which its monument protection would guarantee," Kordovská stated. The ministry's statement is being investigated by ČTK.

"An appeal against the decision can be submitted within 15 days. We have not yet discussed whether the city will submit one. It will probably be the subject of discussions at the next city council meeting," Kulhánek told ČTK.

Hotel Thermal belongs to the Thermal - F company, whose sole shareholder is the state through the Ministry of Finance. The hotel, designed by the Machonins in the 70s, is currently in a state of significant neglect and requires repairs. Last year, the ministry decided that the renovation would begin this year after the film festival ends. The estimated cost of repairing the hotel, excluding the outdoor pool, is 734 million crowns.

Declaring the hotel a cultural monument could complicate the renovation. Each modification would need to be consulted with conservationists.