Prague wants to request the opportunity to match the highest bid in the auction for Veleslavín Castle

Prague - Prague wants to ask the Office for Representation of the State in Property Matters (ÚZSVM) for the possibility to match the highest bid in the planned auction of Veleslavín Castle. This follows from today’s meeting of the property committee of the city council. The mayor of Prague 6, Jakub Stárek (ODS), stated that the starting price will be 580 million crowns and the city district is willing to invest up to 100 million crowns in the castle. The councilor for property, Adam Zábranský (Pirates), said that even so, the starting price is already too high, so it is uncertain whether Prague will take the opportunity to match the bid.

Veleslavín Castle with its historic park spans three hectares and dates back to the early 18th century. The entire area has been closed for some time, and the buildings are deteriorating. The City Hall 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. However, the previously planned exchange fell through, and ÚZSVM rejected Prague's request for a free transfer.

Recently, Prague 6 agreed with the property office on a one-year loan, yet ÚZSVM plans to sell the entire area at an electronic auction. Therefore, according to today’s committee resolution, the city plans to request the office for the possibility to match the highest bid at the auction. Prague 6 is advocating for the city to purchase the castle; according to Stárek, otherwise there is a risk that it will be acquired by a speculator who will allow the heritage site to continue to deteriorate.

Even if the city asks ÚZSVM for the possibility to match the bid, it does not mean that it will do so at least in the first auction. Considering the starting price, councilor Zábranský expressed doubts about it today. "If the starting price is 580 million and the city district is prepared to perhaps invest 100 million crowns, then I don’t know if it even makes sense for us to request that option in this first auction," he said.

Stárek mentioned that Prague 6 has already taken over the area after the loan and plans to open part of the area to the public next week. "We will secure the castle, and we will open part of the garden to the public during certain operational hours," he said. He added that the city district prefers the formation of a consortium for further development of the area in case of a buyout, which would include representation from both the city hall and the city district.

Veleslavín Castle with its historic park spans three hectares and dates back to around 1725. It was built according to the plans of Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer for Empress Amalia 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 individuals such as Charlotta Garrigue Masaryková and Milena Jesenská were treated there.

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