Praha is looking for a new head of the heritage department, Kněžínek is finishing

Prague - The Prague City Hall is looking for a new director for the Department of Heritage Care. Its long-time head, Jan Kněžínek, who is behind some controversial decisions, will leave at the end of July. He is moving to the position of head of the UNESCO World Heritage office, which was recently established at the city hall. Interested candidates for the vacant position can apply until August 10.
     Kněžínek has been working in the Department of Heritage Care at the Prague City Hall for ten years. The department provides binding opinions on whether planned development projects have an impact on the Prague Heritage Reservation. During Kněžínek's tenure, several decisions have been made that sparked criticism from experts. For example, he approved the demolition of a building in Wenceslas Square, a controversial renovation of Charles Bridge, and a modern new building at the end of Revoluční Street.
     Critiques also accuse him of allegedly being too accommodating to some investors and developers. "The clientelist system that was established during his tenure will be hard to break," said Richard Biegel from the Club for Old Prague to ČTK. According to Biegel, the decision-making of heritage officials under Kněžínek was non-transparent and often contradicted the opinions of the National Heritage Institute and the principles of heritage care. He labeled Kněžínek's departure to the new UNESCO office as a mockery.
     Kněžínek, who is already of retirement age, has long countered the criticism. "Heritage care is not just about four or five cases. The department issues thousands of opinions annually. The hardest part is finding a compromise between heritage care and the needs of people in the city. And I think we have succeeded in that," Kněžínek told ČTK. According to him, Prague should not "become conservative" and resist entirely new construction. "I stand by everything I have done," added the departing director.
     The new director of the heritage department will be selected through a publicly announced selection process. According to Biegel, it should be a respected expert with moral credibility. "They must restore professionalism and independence to the decision-making in heritage care," Biegel stated.
     Kněžínek will have the task, among others, of preparing a management plan for the Prague Heritage Reservation, which UNESCO requires. He also plans an outdoor exhibition and other accompanying events for this year's 20th anniversary of Prague's inscription on the World Heritage List.
     The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is one of many UN agencies. Among other things, it selects unique cultural and natural heritage sites from all over the world to include in a prestigious list of such sites. The new special Prague office was established this May at the initiative of Prague. It is managed and financed by the city hall, which also decides who will lead it.