Prague according to UNESCO may end up on the list of endangered monuments

Prague - The historical center of Prague, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992, may be placed on the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger. This list, which includes monuments that are under acute threat of disappearance, is also managed by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). According to the commissioners of the organization who visited Prague in spring, both the city and the Czech state are inadequately protecting the values for which the historical part of Prague was inscribed on the World Heritage List. Culture Minister Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD) and representatives of Prague state that both the city and the state are in dialogue with UNESCO. According to Zaorálek, it is premature to speak about Prague being placed on the list of endangered monuments.

"UNESCO will now wait to see how we will respond. It depends on how we address their objections. Further evaluations will take place," Zaorálek said today.

UNESCO experts and the headquarters of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in their report draw attention to both existing and planned high-rise buildings. They repeatedly point out the construction on Pankrác Plain and recommend halting the Park Residence Kavčí Hory project, while viewing the Smíchov City project positively. They also identify the planned new building law as a threat to the historical center of Prague, as it does not consider the binding opinions of heritage conservationists. They also demand a revision of the Prague Metropolitan Plan and its alignment with the management plan for the World Heritage site and with the comments from the Ministry of Culture.

"The Metropolitan Plan proposes to protect monuments and Prague's visual horizons far more rigorously than the currently valid territorial plan. At the same time, it is not the only tool doing so. (...) Additionally, the Metropolitan Plan is still in the proposal phase," said Marek Vácha, spokesperson for the Institute of Planning and Development of the Capital City.

How Prague and the state will respond to the criticisms and recommendations will be evaluated by the World Heritage Committee at its meeting next year. At that meeting, in the case of confirming the threatened exceptional value of the historical center of Prague, its possible inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger will be assessed.

"We appreciate that Prague is on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. We take the report of UNESCO commissioners seriously and approach it with full responsibility. The City Hall is currently analyzing the report and is in discussions with the Ministry of Culture about its content," said Jiří Pospíšil (TOP 09), chairman of the representatives of the United Forces for Prague.

The UNESCO mission highlighted, for example, the elevated new buildings and extensions in the heritage reserve, which the commissioners state disrupt the historical roofscape of the city. They mention the completion of the V Tower (formerly known as Epoque) in Pankrác, reaching a height of 104 meters. "Despite the objections of the World Heritage Committee, which recommended a height limit of 60 to 70 meters for new buildings in the Pankrác Pentagon after its mission in 2008," the report states, calling on the Czech Republic to ensure that the Park Residence Kavčí Hory project by Central Group does not continue.

Apart from the criticisms, the mission also praised improvements in some previously neglected sites, such as the renovation of the National Museum. They also view the Smíchov City project positively, as it will be suitably integrated into the existing historical structure of the city.

There are over 50 items on the List of World Heritage in Danger, including places like Vienna, Liverpool, and Byzantine churches in Kosovo. Several dozen sites have been removed from the list of endangered monuments for various reasons. The Elbe Valley in Dresden was entirely removed from the World Heritage List.

There are 14 sites on the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List and the Intangible Cultural Heritage List in the Czech Republic. In addition to the center of Prague, these include the historic core of Český Krumlov, the National Stud Farm in Kladruby nad Labem, and the Brno Functionalist Villa Tugendhat. Contracting states of the organization are committed to protecting monuments on the heritage list. Monuments from the list can receive technical and financial assistance from UNESCO.