o. s. For the Beautiful Olomouc: Open Letter to the Mayor of the City

Dear Mr.
Martin Novotný
Mayor of the Statutory City of Olomouc
Horní náměstí 583
779 11 Olomouc

Dear Mr. Mayor,

In recent days, media reports have emerged regarding the ongoing intention to build a third tall building in the area known as Šantovka. Therefore, in the form of an open letter, we return to the topic that the civic association Za krásnou Olomouc raised back in January of this year through a petition campaign. The petition against tall buildings in Olomouc was supported by nearly a thousand citizens, which confirms that the future appearance of the city is not indifferent to the public and that not all residents share the opinion that the cultural level of a historic city and its future development must necessarily be demonstrated by the number of floors of its new constructions.

Representatives of the civic association Za krásnou Olomouc presented the petition to you on May 22, 2012, and the City Council of Olomouc discussed it on June 12, 2012. In your response dated June 13, 2012, you guarantee the responsibility of the City Council when deciding on tall buildings in Olomouc, supported by a list of discussions on this topic. Among other things, we learn that it was the City Council that "allowed the placement of a tall building on tř. Kosmonautů under certain conditions". We are convinced that this project (University Campus and Innovation Center) not only irreparably violated the skyline of the historical core of the city of Olomouc, the second largest heritage reserve in the Czech Republic and one of the twelve sites listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, but also lacks architectural quality due to its height of approximately 75 meters.

Our concerns regarding the construction of a third tall building in Šantovka (within the protection zone of the MPR, thus at its exact boundary) were expressed in the texts and comments accompanying the petition submission. To some extent, your response reassured us that the proposed new zoning plan must exclude tall buildings so that both the client and the contractor of the zoning documentation can address the opinions of the affected authorities, in this case, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. We appreciate that the City Council is willing to listen to the opinions of the relevant authorities and respect its position, which is identical to our own. This also indicates a shift in opinions since the last City Council meeting on August 5, 2008, in which, as you state, the Council "expressed support" for the plan to build a "tall residential building of 18 floors and administrative buildings of a height of 8-9 floors" in Šantovka.

"A key factor" for the City Council's position in 2008 was to be the "quality of the specific architectural solution". With regard to "the values of the historical heritage of the city of Olomouc", the tall dominant should be "conditioned on the submission of an architectural solution at the highest level of contemporary architecture in both European and global contexts". The Guidelines for processing the draft zoning plan of Olomouc, approved by the City Assembly on February 23, 2011, state that "the issue of tall buildings... will be reassessed (evaluated, assessed, and examined) in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic". Another commendable means of urban planning mentioned in the Guidelines is the requirement that the construction of tall buildings must be accompanied by "the establishment of a regulatory plan".

All of these arguments indicate that the city and its representatives take the issue of further tall construction near the historical center seriously. We therefore appeal to them to prevent the emergence of another building or the approval of the necessary phases of its project preparation within the conditions set by the valid zoning documentation, in which height regulation is not firmly established.
Without a developed regulatory plan, which the City Council of Olomouc is already planning for the future according to the aforementioned "Guidelines", it is indeed impossible to verify the feasibility of the proposal for the given location. Likewise, it is not simply possible to ensure the highest architectural quality that the City Council has endorsed, as it concerns the intentions of a private investor. Unfortunately, it cannot be imposed on them but only recommended as a public architectural competition, which is the only chance to reveal and name the architectural qualities from a larger number of proposals.

We agree with the expert opinions of the National Heritage Institute and the position of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic that tall buildings do not belong near the historical center of Olomouc and that they irreparably damage the value of the city's historical heritage. The mistake represented by the second tall building on the třída Kosmonautů cannot be further multiplied with the knowledge of the city's representatives. To ignore the position of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic regarding the proposal for a new zoning plan in the discussed location with the argument of another legal regulation (according to the current valid zoning plan) is considered irresponsible, even immoral, to cling to the letter of the "law" at the expense of its meaning or spirit.

We would greatly appreciate a renewed discussion of the topic in the City Council and your response, from which we would learn what position you truly take on it.


With friendly regards

for the committee of the civic association Za krásnou Olomouc

Mgr. Alexandr Jeništa
Mgr. Martina Mertová
Mgr. Jakub Potůček
Mgr. Martina Potůčková
Prof. PhDr. Rostislav Švácha, CSc.


Contact address:
civic association Za krásnou Olomouc
Mgr. Alexandr Jeništa
Kosinova 7
779 00 Olomouc