Heritage experts dislike the new design of the hall in the Imperial Baths

Karlovy Vary - The conservationists are not pleased with the proposal to place the concert hall in the Karlovy Vary Imperial Baths. The National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) in Loket has only seen a rough sketch so far, but it has reservations about it. The building, which is owned by the Karlovy Vary region, is awaiting reconstruction. It is not yet clear what the future use of the building will be, nor whether it will house just a small multipurpose hall or a fully-fledged concert hall. The city of Karlovy Vary wants to promote a larger hall in the Imperial Baths.

So far, the location of the concert hall has faced rejection from conservationists, who opposed interventions in the historically valuable outer walls of the building. However, according to the mayor of Karlovy Vary, Petr Kulhánek (KOA), there is a variant solution that could satisfy the conservators.

However, the proposal currently exists only in the form of a draft solution. "Even from this sketch, it was clear at first glance that the proposal is oversized and exceeds the limits set by heritage preservation, which both we and the executive body of heritage preservation from the regional office have pointed out to the authors of the sketch," stated the director of the NPÚ in Loket, Romana Riegerová, in a statement.

"The presentation of a variant solution in the form of a single image, moreover within the framework of multilateral discussions at the regional office, cannot be described as even the first step in the process of professional assessment of the proposal from the perspective of heritage preservation; it is rather a preliminary step," she added. According to her, the sketch does not make clear all the possible impacts of the construction modifications. She stated that for a qualified assessment, at least a study, or preferably project documentation, is necessary, which should have been submitted by the owner of the building, namely the Karlovy Vary region.

The variant proposal began to be discussed in connection with the fact that the city council of Karlovy Vary approved the release of up to 150 million crowns as a contribution to the Karlovy Vary region for reworking the project and additional costs related to the placement of the concert hall for the Karlovy Vary Symphony Orchestra.

The reconstruction of the Imperial Baths, which are a national cultural monument, is expected to cost around 550 million crowns, with the Karlovy Vary region contributing 200 million crowns, Karlovy Vary 100 million crowns, and the region has 250 million promised from the Ministry of Culture. However, a condition is that it must present a specific proposal for the future use of the Imperial Baths.

At the same time, the region has still not decided whether to continue the already initiated tender for the contractor of the reconstruction or to cancel it.