Ombudsman: The care for monuments in Kyselka is insufficient

photo: Lukáš Podhorský

Brno - The care for the heritage-protected buildings in the spa of Kyselka in Karlovy Vary is insufficient, stated the ombudsperson representative Jitka Seitlová after a personal visit to the municipality. She has taken steps that should lead to prompt remediation. The Office of the Public Defender of Rights informed about this in a press release today.
      Last March, Seitlová, who has been dealing with this case for three years, demanded that the building authority in Kyselka and the Karlovy Vary magistrate promptly carry out actions aimed at protecting the structural condition of the heritage-protected buildings. She also requested that the magistrate work with the heritage inspection of the Ministry of Culture to recheck whether the owners of the buildings are violating the law. She has now decided to check the situation on-site. After discussions with both the magistrate and the building authority, she declared that the activity of both offices is permanently insufficient. "The authorities are relying only on the promises of the owners. No work aimed at rescue has been carried out so far," said Seitlová.
      She documented the emergency and continually deteriorating condition of the buildings, which have collapsed ceilings, damp walls, and in many places roofs are missing. According to her, the building authority should immediately conduct a new inspection, ensure a professional assessment of the buildings, and quickly take corrective actions, that is, order the owners to carry out maintenance work or necessary modifications as required by the building law, which the head of the building authority promised. However, if the owners do not intervene, the state and its relevant authorities must take the necessary measures.
      "If the state is interested in preserving the cultural and historical value of the former Mattoni factory complex, it must take steps to rescue the protected buildings on behalf of the inactive owner and rigorously seek to recover the incurred costs from the owner," asserts Seitlová.
      In recent days, a student call for the rescue of the 19th-century spa has emerged, which is joined by well-known figures from public life, such as writer Jaroslav Rudiš and actor Jiří Mádl.