Prague 6 has reached an agreement with the state on the loan of the Veleslavín chateau

Prague – The Prague 6 Town Hall has reached an agreement with the Office for Representation of the State in Property Matters (ÚZSVM) on the loan of the Veleslavín Castle complex, which it plans to open to the public. The loan is expected to last from this June until August next year; however, the state intends to sell the castle at auction, so the loan period may be shortened. Marek Zeman, a spokesperson for Prague 6, informed ČTK of this in a press release today. The Prague City Hall is also striving to obtain the castle, having so far unsuccessfully requested its transfer free of charge from the state.

Prague and Prague 6 have been trying to acquire the castle since 2018, and according to earlier plans, they intend to build, among other things, a hospice center there. The 18th-century castle and the adjacent park are closed and deteriorating. Last October, the leadership of Prague urged the Ministry of Finance to transfer the castle to it free of charge, as it considers the price of 523 million crowns demanded by ÚZSVM to be disproportionate.

Prague 6 then initiated negotiations with the state at the beginning of this year about postponing the planned sale of the castle. In the meantime, the town hall aims to propose further steps that would allow the retention of public amenities in the area. "It is a pity that an agreement with the state was not reached earlier, but it is better to try to find a new future for the area now than to miss what may be the last chance to influence what happens to the Veleslavín Castle in the future," stated the city councilor Petr Prokop (STAN).

After signing the loan agreement, the town hall plans to make the area accessible to the public, with the possibility of holding events for children, community activities, or cultural festivals. "Preparation of the neglected area for safe public access will precede this," said Zeman.

Veleslavín Castle, with its historical park, spans three hectares and dates back to around 1725. It was built according to the designs of Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer for Empress Amalie of Brunswick. In the first half of the 20th century, it served as a neurological sanatorium founded by Leo Kosák and one of the discoverers of Alzheimer’s disease, Oskar Fischer. Notable patients included Charlotta Garrigue Masaryková and Milena Jesenská.

After the communist takeover, the complex was nationalized. After the revolution, various institutions rented the property. It is now under ÚZSVM, which acquired the area from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in 2015. Recently, the castle and surrounding buildings have been deteriorating, and the area with the forest park is closed to the public. The last renovation of the complex took place in 1986.