The new house on Petřín will be smaller than the original, said the head of the department

Prague - The planned construction of public toilets and maintenance facilities in the Strahov gardens of Prague will be one third the size of the hut that was originally there. While the planned construction is set to have 51 square meters, the original hut had 130 square meters. This was stated by Dan Frantík, head of the municipal department of greenery care, at today's meeting of the municipal control committee. Local residents are protesting against the project worth about 16 million crowns and have drawn up a petition against the construction. Prague representatives will address this petition on Thursday.

The original hut, which stood in the garden and had a foundation, was removed in 2016. In its place, a resting area with a drinking fountain and benches was created. According to Frantík, the protesting residents probably forgot that there was a construction there in the past. "The new construction is not in a specially protected area. Four locations were evaluated, and this one emerged as the least problematic," he said.

The project includes the construction of a two-story garden facility. Public toilets will be located on the ground floor. The building will be partially sunken into the terrain. A new viewpoint with seating is proposed between the building and the entrance gate from Vlašská Street.

Against the municipality's intention, associations Petřín for Life and Petřín Initiative have emerged. They argue that the area, which has been almost untouched by tourists, will attract their attention, causing locals to lose one of the few places in the center where they can relax. Frantík disagreed with the objections at today's committee meeting.

The Great Strahov Garden near Strahov Monastery was established in the early Middle Ages as a utility garden. Its area is 11 hectares. In 2016, it was connected to Petřín Gardens.