The Heritage Institute will create four new centers for heritage management

One of the centers will be in Kroměříž.

Prague - The leadership of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) is preparing a restructuring of its organization. A fundamental change is to be the establishment of four new centers for heritage management. Some experts, including NPÚ employees, criticize this. They perceive the intention as a separation of castle and chateau management from the professional activities of heritage conservationists. They fear that such a move would gradually transfer hundreds of heritage sites out of state ownership. NPÚ leadership rejects this.
     "There will be no separation of heritage care and management due to the restructuring - it is an adjustment in the economic and budgetary sphere, a clearer definition of budgetary rules and financing, and more efficient management of financial resources," said NPÚ spokeswoman Zdeňka Kalová. New regional heritage offices (ÚPS) will continue to collaborate with experts, as stipulated by law, she added.
     NPÚ is the largest contributory organization of the Ministry of Culture. It was established in 2003 when separate regional heritage care institutes were merged. According to NPÚ director Nadja Goryczková, the merger without the establishment of a management center continues to pose problems. Therefore, she wants to create a general directorate and administratively separate the management of professional care and heritage management - new ÚPS with centers in Prague, České Budějovice, Sychrov, and Kroměříž will be established for this purpose.
     Changes in the organization of the institute are expected to lead to improved heritage care, which today is reportedly unbalanced. While new workplaces are being created, the number of managers across the NPÚ will decrease by up to half due to the elimination of certain positions at the regional level. The saved money is reportedly intended for increasing salaries for selected professions.
     However, critics argue that the layoffs are being conducted to pay for the costly reorganization. Meanwhile, the premises of some branches, which are now located in every region, were recently renovated for tens of millions - and according to opponents of the plan, these would not be utilized in the future. NPÚ leadership is said to provide little information about the plans. It has canceled the discussion forum on its website regarding the changes; discussions can reportedly take place on the website of the Association of Professional Heritage Workers (SPPPP), which criticizes the proposal.
     The association sent an open letter to the Minister of Culture in June. It states that it is not clear what the goal of the restructuring is, why the existing NPÚ structure cannot be used for the declared goals. It is allegedly unclear how the change will contribute to the efficiency of current heritage care, and there is also a lack of assessment of its risks.
     A sharp critic of the NPÚ restructuring is also ASORKD (Association of Associations for the Protection and Development of Cultural Heritage), which is particularly known for its involvement in the recent renovation of Charles Bridge and activities around the dilapidated spa Kyselka. In addition to criticisms that are similar to those of SPPPP, ASORKD points out that changes in NPÚ are to be initiated before the establishment of the new heritage law.
     According to the association, the proposal is unilaterally oriented towards the commercial tourism industry, and the new administrative locations are allegedly mislocated, necessitating long journeys for conservationists. NPÚ rejects ASORKD's criticism, demanding that it withdraw its analyses of the restructuring proposal from the internet, and if it does not do so, NPÚ considers legal action.
     NPÚ operates with an annual budget of 1.3 billion crowns, of which approximately half a billion is earned by the institute. The volume of construction and restoration contracts associated with heritage is also significant, with estimates suggesting that up to a billion crowns circulate in these contracts annually.