The abandoned Dukelská barracks in Opava are to find use again

Opava - Representatives of the Opava municipality want to create a concept for the use of the former Dukelská barracks area. The council intends to find new applications for the existing empty buildings. They reject the possibility of demolishing buildings from the late 19th century. Most of the area already belongs to the city, which anticipates that it will acquire the remaining land and buildings from the Ministry of Defense this year. The fact that it does not own them has so far hindered the development of this space. This was stated by the mayor's deputy Dalibor Halátek (Change for Opava).
"The city is now the owner of 90 percent of the land and buildings in the former barracks area. The rest, which still belongs to the Ministry of Defense, is crucial for further development. For example, a transformer station stands on it," said the deputy. If the city did not acquire the land, it would have to invest in the construction of its own transformer station.
In the past, the city had created several working groups that were supposed to come up with proposals for the use of the space covering nearly nine hectares. "We will evaluate the results of previous working groups and create a new one that should come up with a final solution," said Mayor Martin Víteček (YES).
The city leadership does not anticipate that companies with heavy manufacturing should find application in this area. On the contrary, they want to focus on lighter industry, educational institutions, or housing. "The use of the railway siding that leads into the area could be an advantage for potential interested parties," said the deputy.
He added that in the part that continues to serve the army as a landing area for helicopters, construction is also not allowed. There, the city wants to renovate the existing buildings. The area of the heliport, which is also used as a playground, must remain preserved. Therefore, it will continue to serve sports.
Halátek sees the problem in the use of three large historical buildings. "We need to find a strategic partner or partners with a vision for how to use them. The buildings are enormous, and it will not be easy. Educational institutions or social services could reside in them," he said.
Currently, one-third of the barracks area is utilized. Two buildings have been purchased by a company that manufactures bicycles, and one is rented by them. Part of the area is used by volunteer firefighters and the sports association LOS. "One hall is rented by Silesian University in Opava, one building and garages are used as storage by the Silesian Theater in Opava, and the police use other garages," said city spokesperson Lada Dobrovolná.
According to the spokesperson, the city hall has several requests for renting or possibly purchasing additional spaces. This collaboration, however, is conditioned on reconnecting the buildings to engineering networks. "The transformer station and the gas connection for the entire area are in the buildings that the army retained in ownership," she said.
The original artillery barracks were built in Opava in 1889. Initially named Rudolfova, it was later named after the first president T. G. Masaryk. After World War II, it was renamed Dukelská. The construction of the historical buildings was contributed by the city construction engineer, painter, founder, and director of the City Museum in Opava, Moritz Hartel. During the totalitarian regime, up to 1,000 soldiers were drafted into the area each year. The army abandoned the buildings in 2007.