Heritage experts recommend expropriating Vyšehrad station

Prague - The Czech National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) supports Prague's intention to repair the dilapidated Vyšehrad railway station and initiate expropriation proceedings for this monument. Assuming that the purchase of the property cannot be negotiated, according to representatives of this institution, the priority is to save the building, which is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site. The UNESCO World Heritage Center and the ICOMOS headquarters recommended expropriation to the state and the capital city back in March 2019. Jan Štoll, spokesperson for the Czech National Committee of ICOMOS, told ČTK today.

The roof of the monumentally protected Art Nouveau station building has begun to collapse. The unused building is in a deplorable state, and its owner, RailCity Vyšehrad, is not investing in it. The roof is likely to be repaired by Prague 2 with financial assistance from the city hall, which will seek to recover the costs from the owner. According to recent statements, the city would like to acquire the station into its ownership, but negotiations have not yet been successful, and the city hall is also considering expropriation.

Prague councilman for property Jan Chabr (TOP 09) told ČTK a week ago that the law allows the municipality to repair the collapsing monument at the owner's expense if the owner does not respond to requests. According to him, the building is now awaiting a local inspection by heritage experts, who will then once again urge the owner to rectify the situation if any shortcomings are found.

"The state should use its powers through the Prague city hall to expropriate the former Vyšehrad station and hand it over to another investor willing and able to repair and resume its operation. To ensure its future, more drastic measures are currently needed," stated UNESCO and ICOMOS commissioners in a report from a 2019 mission that addressed the historical center of Prague inscribed on the UNESCO list.

"This would be the first expropriation of a cultural monument in the Czech Republic. It is essential to immediately prevent further devastation; by spring, there might not be anything left to save," said Václav Girsa, president of the Czech National Committee of ICOMOS.

He reminds of the occasional practice where some owners of cultural monuments wait until the monument deteriorates to a state where its removal is inevitable. "It then loses its heritage protection, and the owner gains new options for handling the land on which the monument originally stood. This reprehensible approach is in stark contradiction to the law on state heritage care, as well as the building law," he stated. "If the city repairs the station at its own expense, it can seek reimbursement from the owner through legal means, including enforcement, which could also provide grounds for selling the property at auction, leading to finding a new owner for the property," Girsa added.

In the event of acquiring the property into the ownership of Prague, it is being considered that the building, after reconstruction, could house Alfons Mucha's Slav Epic. Prague 2 is also interested in this. The station is among seven locations that the city is currently considering for placing the cycle.

The building was constructed between 1904 and 1905, and it ceased to function as a station in the 1960s. The object has been in private hands since 2007. The restoration of its original function is not possible, as modern standards do not allow placing a station in a bend. Instead, the city plans a train stop at Výtoni.