Cities are still struggling with the buildings of communism even after 20 years

Uherské Hradiště - Historical cities in the Czech Republic are still struggling with the consequences of socialist architecture and urbanism even 20 years after the fall of communism. In many towns in the Czech Republic, for example, gaps from demolished buildings in historical areas have still not been resolved, said the chairman of the Association of Historic Towns of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia (SHS ČMS), Petr Sedláček, to journalists at the opening of the conference. Approximately 170 representatives of towns and municipalities, preservationists, architects, and monument owners gathered in Uherské Hradiště.
    "We need to find a use for them that is dignified and does not pretend to be some kind of history. We know many examples around the world that it is possible to introduce a beautiful new building with modern architecture even in historic development," hinted Sedláček at possible solutions for filling in the gaps.
    The purpose of the conference titled Heritage of Recent History and Problems of the Present is, according to him, primarily public discussion. "Both good and bad examples from practice are presented. Investors, preservationists, and architects who are not burdened by the pressure of a specific case meet here. It is good to know these opinions and thereby help everyone learn from the mistakes of others," stated the chairman of SHS ČMS, who is also the deputy mayor of Kroměříž.
    "People who come back after five or ten years tell us how enormously the city has changed. I think it has positively manifested that the town hall repaired properties that remained in the municipality's ownership in the past. When private properties were the last ugly ones, the owners were more willing to fix them up. We helped them obtain some state funding so that those buildings could look as dignified as they do today," Sedláček explained.
    Uherské Hradiště also struggled with the consequences of socialist architecture, which was one of the three finalists in the competition for Historical City of the Year 2009. "All it takes is to look at two panel apartment buildings built in the city heritage conservation area or the building of the cultural club. Now we are again dealing with problems related to advertising or the placement of air conditioning units," said deputy mayor Stanislav Blaha. The phenomenon of advertising is the second major topic of the Uherské Hradiště conference.
    The Association of Historic Towns of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia is a voluntary, interest-based, non-partisan, and non-governmental organization that primarily brings together historic municipalities or parts of them, where significant cultural values, especially immovable monuments, are preserved. It was established at the initiative of cities in November 1990 and currently brings together 203 municipalities, towns, and city districts, where more than three million inhabitants live together.