Minister Bartoš prepared a proposal to rescue the barracks in Terezín and Josefov

Prague – The Ministry for Regional Development has prepared a proposal to save the dilapidating barracks in the fortress towns of Terezín in the Litoměřice region and Josefov in the Náchod region. The emergency condition of the buildings requires quick solutions, Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš (Pirates) stated in a press release today. The aim of the material is to quickly propose a financing model for the repairs and management of the barracks or to resolve the legal ownership arrangements of the structures. In Terezín, after heavy weekend rains, another part of the Jan Žižka barracks collapsed. Officials from Terezín and Jaroměř, under which Josefov falls, have previously stated that financing repairs of the barracks is beyond the capabilities of the municipalities.

"At the ministry, we have prepared material for the government proposing specific steps that need to be taken to rescue Žižka’s barracks (in Terezín). The material also addresses the renovation of the Square Barracks in Josefov, which is in a similar situation to the barracks in Terezín. In preparing it, we relied on data gathered through collaboration with the affected towns,” Bartoš stated.

The Ministry of Regional Development has discussed the situation with the ministries of culture and finance. A proposal to resolve the situation has been sent to all parties involved and will subsequently be submitted to the government for approval. According to the Ministry of Regional Development, the cabinet should take a leading role in the rescue of the barracks in collaboration with the towns and regions.

The previous government allocated about 600 million crowns from the National Recovery Plan for the renovation of the barracks in Josefov and 700 million for the barracks in Terezín. However, Bartoš stated in April this year that the funds from the National Recovery Plan would not be used for the repairs of the barracks.

According to the minister's statements at the time, it is not possible to meet the criteria related to accessing the funds. For instance, the building would have to be renovated within three years. Furthermore, according to Bartoš, it was not clear, even at the time when the previous government promised money from the National Recovery Plan for the barracks, where additional financing for repairs would come from. "These are not investments in the range of tens and hundreds of millions of crowns; ultimately, these are investments where we are talking about billions," Bartoš said in April. For example, the cost of repairing the Square Barracks in Josefov was estimated last year by the Jaroměř leadership at about 1.2 billion crowns, and the estimated costs for repairs to the barracks in Terezín amounted to more than one billion crowns last year.