The commission will evaluate the decision regarding the house on Wenceslas Square

Prague - The appeal commission of the Ministry of Culture (MK) is to assess whether the recent decision by the office not to declare the building at the corner of Wenceslas Square and Opletalova Street as a cultural monument was lawful. According to Minister of Culture Alena Hanáková (TOP 09 and STAN), it is also to evaluate whether the decision was sufficiently justified, the ministry stated on its website today. The owner wants to demolish the building and build another in its place.
    MK will thus decide on the fate of the house for the umpteenth time, and the appeal commission will be examining the case for the second time. For the investor, today’s decision means that at the moment the appeal commission initiates its review proceedings, the building is protected as if it were a monument, said MK spokeswoman Markéta Ševčíková to ČTK.
    "The project developer, Flow East, does not wish to comment on matters that seem to be an internal affair of the Ministry of Culture," Tereza Procházková, its media representative, told ČTK.
    When the investor’s intention regarding the building was made public last year, it sparked discontent among some heritage conservation experts, and protests were held against the project. This year, MK received two proposals to declare the building a monument. Based on the first, officials did not initiate the relevant proceedings, but in April they began to reconsider the submission and initiated proceedings. In September, they decided that the building is not a monument.
    However, Hanáková today requested the appeal commission to determine whether the non-declaration of the building as a cultural monument is in accordance with legal regulations. She is also interested in whether the public interest in the protection of cultural heritage might have been compromised.
    The MK heritage department stated in its decision that although "the architectural and urban quality of the building does not significantly exceed the production of its time, it is indisputable and has its place in the environment of the Prague Monument Reserve". Heritage conservationists noted that it is not possible to regard even these average historical buildings as surplus that can anytime make way for commercial new constructions.
    However, they did not declare the building a monument because they did not want "the consequences of serious legal defects" in the opinions of Prague heritage conservationists to "heal the overestimation of the qualities of the subject building".
    The demolition of the building in the monument reserve was allowed last year by the heritage department of the magistrate. The heritage conservationists from the Ministry of Culture found its opinion unlawful and canceled it six months later, but by then it was too late because this can only be done within two months.
    Therefore, the appeal commission of the Ministry of Culture recommended the cancellation of this decision of the ministerial heritage conservationists, as the owner of the building had already counted on the magistrate's decision for half a year, and its cancellation by the ministry could reportedly jeopardize his investment. The then Minister of Culture Jiří Besser (TOP 09 and STAN) confirmed the commission's opinion.