Ostrov and Horní Slavkov reject the declaration of the Sorela heritage zone

Ostrov (Karlovy Vary) - Ostrov in the Karlovy Vary region and Horní Slavkov in the Sokolov region refuse to include certain buildings in the Sorela heritage zone. This name refers to buildings constructed in the 1950s in the style of so-called socialist realism. The towns are concerned that if these buildings receive heritage protection, their maintenance costs will increase. The towns want to protect the structures from the era of socialism themselves, without restrictions from heritage authorities. Jan Bureš, the mayor of Ostrov, said this today to ČTK.
Ostrov is considered one of the model cities where socialist realism architecture was extensively applied. For this reason, experts discussed today how to utilize this potential for tourism development. However, the representatives of the municipal sphere did not reach an agreement. Bureš believes that the Sorela buildings will definitely not increase the city's visitor numbers. "We do not expect that tour groups will come here specifically because of that. It may just be one of a series of attractions, but certainly not a deciding factor. The town council rejected the creation of a heritage zone back in 2003 and we stand by that," Bureš stated.
In Ostrov, only the cultural center and one of the kindergartens are protected from dozens of socialist realism buildings. Due to the planned reconstruction of the cultural center and its appearance after the renovation, the town is now in dispute with the heritage authorities. As a result, it has suspended project preparation. For now, it can only repair the roof. "And if a heritage zone were to be declared across the entire town, it would become even more complicated. The heritage authorities would tell us what we can and cannot do, yet we would have to secure the funds ourselves," remarked the mayor.
However, it seems that Ostrov will likely not face the declaration of the Sorela heritage zone. The buildings of socialist realism there primarily consist of residential houses. Most of them have already been sold by the town to private owners who have begun their renovations. However, they do not adhere to a consistent style, and the houses differ in color or chosen modifications, stated Lubomír Zeman from the National Heritage Institute in Prague. "Many irreversible interventions have already taken place here. This could be one of the complications preventing the creation of a zone," Zeman said.
He believes that the buildings from the Sorela category should indeed be protected. For now, it would be good if someone explained to the residents what their significance is and how they should be approached. "The problem is that part of Ostrov from the era of socialist realism is valuable in its external appearance. If the houses are repaired as they have been so far, this whole ensemble will disappear. The heritage authorities mainly cared about preserving this external appearance, so that the individual stages remain the same. But what we see here is rather chaos," Zeman added.
The mayor of Horní Slavkov, Jana Vildumetzová, initially criticized the fact that the town is overlooked in terms of examples of buildings categorized as Sorela. She noted that the local housing estate and center constitute one of the largest urban complexes from this architectural era. At the same time, she rejected the idea that Horní Slavkov is interested in declaring a heritage zone. Just like in the case of Ostrov, she is also concerned about heritage authorities. "Now we spent about 30 million crowns on the reconstruction of the Tatran hotel. If the heritage authorities had a say, the costs would likely be much higher," Vildumetzová added.