The Heritage Institute does not agree with the footbridge in Vinohrady

Prague – The National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) disagrees with the plan of the capital city to build a footbridge over Bělehradská Street in Prague's Vinohrady. The institute stated this on its website and objected to the city's statement from last week that the proposal was selected by heritage conservationists. The city has already adjusted the wording on its website. According to NPÚ, the construction in the heritage zone is unsuitable and would destroy valuable staircases, which is also evident from two statements from the institute. Deputy Mayor Adam Scheinherr (Prague Together) apologized for the mistake in the press release.

The footbridge for pedestrians and cyclists is expected to connect Wenzigova Street and U Zvonařky, according to city information. It is to be 45 meters long and four meters wide, and is estimated to cost 30 million crowns excluding VAT. Construction could start in the second half of next year and is expected to last about a year, the city announced last Wednesday. The press release also stated that the bridge "was selected from dozens of proposals assessed by the National Heritage Institute."

The institute rejected this. "NPÚ did not agree with the establishment of the bridge at this location and did not participate in the selection of the presented design. A representative of NPÚ was not involved in any jury or committee and did not select from the submitted variants. NPÚ has always assessed the submitted proposal within the administrative proceeding," stated the institute in a declaration and called on the city to issue a new press release. The city only changed the wording on its website on Friday to "in cooperation with heritage conservationists."

The project is currently in the design phase, and the city has not yet requested a zoning decision. "Due to the complexity of the area and its historical value, we wanted to show the plan to the residents of Prague and find out how they like it, even at this early stage of the project. An error occurred during the publication of the press release, for which I apologize. In Prague, we have several organizations that can be referred to as heritage conservationists," said Scheinherr.

NPÚ issues non-binding opinions for constructions that affect the heritage zone, while binding opinions are the responsibility of the heritage conservationists of the Prague municipality. According to the spokesman for the authority, Vít Hofman, the project has not been addressed by them, and no opinion has been issued.

According to NPÚ, the proposed project is not suitable for the area, also considering the valuable staircases that connect Bělehradská to the higher transverse streets on both sides. "The realization of the proposed bridge would mean a fatal transformation of the existing mass composition of the place. Today's staircases would become merely a kind of base for the new bridge, and the valuable original solution would thus effectively disappear," stated the conservationists of the institute.

This is not the only similar project; last year, after nearly three years, the city opened a bridge over the Vltava in Troja, which replaced a structure that collapsed in December 2017. This year, the city management also wants to start the construction of another bridge connecting Holešovice and Karlín over Štvanice Island.