Prague filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Culture due to the renovation of Mariánské náměstí

Prague - The Prague City Hall has filed a lawsuit against the decision of the Cultural Heritage Preservation Department of the Ministry of Culture regarding the repair of Mariánské náměstí. The reason is the requirement of the preservationists to keep the sidewalks and roads in their current state with separate curbs. The city disagrees and wants to remove all barriers and level the square to one level. This follows from the lawsuit and the resolution of the city councilors, both documents are available to ČTK. The city has commissioned a study for the restoration of the square, which is to become a pedestrian zone with added benches, a fountain, and greenery, and some surrounding streets will be modified.

According to the wording of the lawsuit, preservationists demand that the sidewalks and roads remain as they are now. That is, including the currently unused bay in front of the main entrance to the city hall, which served as a parking lot. In contrast, the city wants the pedestrian zone in the square to be on the same level, with elevated curbs only in places where they will end.

Preservationists issued their original statement with demands in June 2020. The city appealed, as it considered the statement to be in contradiction with the aforementioned study. This objection was rejected in May this year. The lawsuit is now aimed against this rejection.

According to the city, the contested decision addresses issues that are not within the purview of the preservationists. This concerns, for example, the decision of whether the square should be a pedestrian zone or be barrier-free. This, according to the city, is solely at the discretion of the owner. "The conditions set by the administrative authorities, however, prevent the transformation of the area into a pedestrian zone because they bind the preservation of roads and sidewalks and their separation by different heights. It is possible to argue that it should look like a historical space for pedestrians, but it is not possible to insist on the preservation of the road network for motor vehicles. Such protection is essentially an overstepping of the authority that heritage preservation has,” the lawsuit states.

The city also sees a problem in that the demands contradict the consistent support for accessibility, to which both the city and the Czech Republic are committed. According to the lawsuit, the decision states that the least vulnerable, such as parents with strollers, can manage the barriers, and those with medium disadvantages can bypass or circumvent them. "And the most vulnerable should probably not visit the area at all,” the text states.

The city also objects to alleged contradictions. For example, it points out that the decision states that the so-called leveled public space was natural until the advent of motorization in the early 20th century, when sidewalks and curbs were created, but considers a return to this period as "unacceptable historicism." "In doing so, they essentially petrify one phase of the entire evolution and prevent the natural further transformation, which in itself is a greater historicism,” the lawsuit argues.

The square houses the city hall, the Municipal and National Library, and the Clam-Gallas Palace. For a long time, it primarily served as a parking lot, but two years ago the city leadership banned vehicle access. A pedestrian zone with trees is to be created in the square. It will be newly paved, and the borders around the buildings will consist of Prague mosaic. A fountain with drinking water and a new bench in the northern part of the square are also planned. Transportation will be minimized, except for emergency services, public transport, deliveries, and residents from the immediate vicinity.

Mariánské náměstí was a settlement called Na Louži since around the mid-12th century. It got its name from the Church of the Virgin Mary that stood there at the time. The space underwent significant changes in the early 20th century when the New City Hall was built.