Kněžínek finished as the head of the department, but he still has the monuments under his jurisdiction

Prague - Whether the system of heritage care promoted by the Prague Heritage Department will change will likely be clear only after some time has passed since the successor to the often-criticized Jan Kněžínk takes over. According to representatives of the Club for Old Prague, who were "on the heels" of the head of the city heritage officials, the clientelist system at the Prague magistrate will be difficult to dismantle.
     "If Mr. Kněžínek remains at the magistrate in any other capacity, I fear that we cannot expect many changes," club chairperson Kateřina Bečková told ČTK. She adds that not only the former mayor Pavel Bém but also his successor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS) defend Kněžínk. "I think they do not understand heritage, arguing that we cannot hinder progress and that it is not possible to turn the city into an open-air museum, which are completely misguided arguments," stated the art historian.
     Decision-making by the magistrate's heritage officials was often contrary to the opinion of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ), according to the Club for Old Prague and against the principles of heritage care. The club describes Kněžínk's departure to the new UNESCO office as mockery.
     During Kněžínk's tenure, the heritage department approved, for example, the demolition of a building in Wenceslas Square, where a new building was supposed to arise, which sparked enormous public discontent. The reconstruction of Charles Bridge, which was approved by Prague and significantly criticized by heritage officials, was also controversial. Recently, city heritage department officials granted permission for a new building on Revoluční Street; however, just as in Wenceslas Square, the older building is not being demolished, because in both cases new facts have come to light.
     Kněžínek also green-lit a radical reconstruction of a building in Hradčanské náměstí, where a new seat of the Václav Havel Library is to be established. Although the project has heritage approval, it lacks a building permit, yet according to the statement of the last tenant, construction work has begun.
     The interventions being carried out in the Prague heritage reservation are evaluated by the NPÚ, but its expert voice is only advisory; a binding statement that the investor must follow is issued by the city heritage department. It was precisely for those interventions, which in some cases led to unprecedented incursions into the heritage reservation, that Kněžínk faced criticism from heritage officials and other experts.
     He always rejected the criticism, stating that his department issues "thousands of opinions" each year and that people only know a few cases that made it into the media. "The hardest part is finding a compromise between heritage care and the needs of people in the city. And I think we managed that," Kněžínk told ČTK in July. "I stand by everything I have done," he added.
     Candidates who would like to apply for Kněžínk's position can do so until August 10. According to Richard Biegel, secretary of the Club for Old Prague, it should be a respected expert with moral credibility. "They must restore expertise and independence to decision-making about heritage care," stated Biegel.