The property office sold the Prague house U Hybernů for 447 million crowns

Prague - The auction of the Prague house U Hybernů near the Powder Tower has a winner, who offered an opening price of 447 million crowns for the property. This was announced today by the Office for the Representation of the State in Property Matters (ÚZSVM), which organized the auction. This marks the second most successful sale by the office, with the state receiving a higher amount only from the sale of the neighboring complex at Republic Square, which was auctioned for 790 million crowns. According to the server Seznam Zprávy, the house U Hybernů was purchased - just like the adjacent complex a few years ago - by Slovak billionaire Milan Fiľo. His company Eco-Investment has long-term rental of the house U Hybernů, where it operates a musical theatre.

According to the property office, two interested parties registered for the auction of the property opposite the Municipal House. Only one bid was made, with one of the participants offering the starting price two hours before the auction ended. No further increases, which would have to be at least 50,000 crowns, were made.

According to ÚZSVM, the winner of the auction was a legal entity from Prague, which was not further identified. Seznam Zprávy wrote that Fiľo's company Eco-Investment is the majority owner of the company Hybernia, which has rented the building at Republic Square since 2001 and operates a musical theatre there. According to the server, Fiľo also owns the former monastery building at Republic Square adjacent to the house U Hybernů, the sale of which in 2015 remains the most profitable auction by the property office to date.

The office will now call the winner to sign the purchase contract, which is still subject to approval by the Ministry of Finance.

The house U Hybernů was created in the 19th century by converting the original Baroque monastery church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary at the Irish Franciscan monastery. Between 1811 and 1813, it was converted into a customs office of the Austrian Empire. From 1938 to 1949, the church was transformed into an exhibition hall, serving this purpose until 1991. In 2006, the building was renovated, and a modern theatre hall was created within its premises.

Currently, it is used by the Hybernia Theatre, with a lease agreement in place until 2055. The theatre, which has recently invested in equipment and technology, now, according to director Eva Homindová Römerová, gains certainty for the future. "Exactly, we welcome it," the director said today to ČTK regarding the purchase of the building by Eco-Investment.

ÚZSVM took over the house U Hybernů at the end of 2024 from the State Fund of Culture. The property was offered to other state institutions, which, however, showed no interest. Consequently, the property office offered the house for sale in an electronic auction, which concluded successfully in the first round.

Auctions of properties with high starting prices organized by the property office have recently ended mostly unsuccessfully. This week, no one registered for the auction of the Prague Veleslavín Castle, which ÚZSVM offered for 357 million crowns. At the end of February, the sale of the Central Bohemian Štiřín Castle at a starting price of 1.156 billion crowns was unsuccessful, and in January, the eighth attempt to sell the Prague Broadway Palace for 878 million crowns also ended unsuccessfully.