Komora: The railway station in Havířov is to be a monument

Havířov (Karviná) - The Czech Chamber of Architects (ČKA) is demanding that the Ministry of Culture declare the train station in Havířov, Karviná, a cultural heritage site. The Chamber has also approached Minister of Transport Antonín Prachař, requesting that he advocate for the preservation and reconstruction of the existing station building, as reported yesterday by ČTK, due to comments from ČKA vice-chairman Josef Smutný.
The station building, constructed in the so-called Brussels style, is once again threatened with demolition. The Supervisory Board of Czech Railways changed its December verdict last Thursday and decided to revive the halted project for the construction of a new transport terminal in Havířov, which is associated with the demolition of the building.
"The Supervisory Board agreed in the meeting that terminating the contract with Havířov would be very complicated and would cause financial losses. Therefore, it revoked its previous stance and decided to continue negotiations on the new transport terminal project," explained the spokesperson for the Ministry of Transport, Tomáš Neřold, last week regarding the change in stance.
A group of architects is trying to prevent the demolition of the current station building. The opponents of the demolition from the association "Důl architektury" have previously sought to have the station declared a cultural heritage site. However, their initiative ultimately was not successful.
"The train station in Havířov is the work of Josef Hrejsemnou and was created between 1964 and 1969. It is one of the quality examples of 1960s architecture and its historical and cultural value for the region is entirely indisputable," stated Smutný in a submission for the declaration of the station as a cultural heritage site. According to him, the Havířov station belongs to the world-renowned contributions of Czech architects in the field of industrial heritage.
The construction of the new transport terminal is a joint project of the city and Czech Railways. According to information from the municipality, the railways were supposed to take care of the reconstruction of the station building, while the city was to address the modification of the area in front of the station. The terminal, costing approximately 200 million crowns, is intended to connect rail, bus, and personal transport, with an area for bus stops and a large parking lot adjacent to the train station.
Havířov city councilors approved the project in June 2011. According to the original plans, the construction of the terminal was to begin in 2013 and be completed this year.