Terezín received all properties from the state after the army

TEREZÍN (Litoměřice) - The city of Terezín in the Litoměřice region has received all properties from the army from the state. The town hall can now apply for money from European funds for the renovation of buildings. According to the city's estimates, the reconstruction of the 18th-century buildings will cost several hundred million crowns, while the implementation of a project focused on revitalizing the former military fortress will cost several billion crowns.
The army left the city in 1997. Since then, the town hall has requested a gratuitous transfer from the state. "The last military facility we were missing was the lodging house," said Deputy Mayor Vít Bureš to ČTK. The first property Terezín received from the state was in 1998.
The value of the property, which includes the former Garrison House of Culture, a military hospital, warehouses, and barracks, exceeds one hundred million crowns. The town hall plans to renovate most of the buildings and lease some of them. The former military fortress is to become a university town, a congress center, and an attractive spot for tourists.
The initiative titled "Europrojekt Terezín - center of education, culture, and sports" is expected to require about 7.5 billion crowns from domestic and European sources over the next eight years. Approximately 3.5 billion crowns will be needed for the remediation of the fortress system, the same amount will be required for the renovation of buildings in the inner city and their transformation for higher education needs. Additional hundreds of millions of crowns will go towards the restoration of public spaces, the construction of sports and recreational zones, and the reconstruction of roads and engineering networks.
The government is expected to decide this year whether it is possible to include the individual phases of reconstruction in the European Union budget for the years 2007 to 2013.
The gradual restoration of the three-thousand-inhabitant Terezín, which served as a concentration camp during World War II, includes 28 projects. It aims to increase the number of jobs, accommodation beds, and spaces for recreation and sports. Abandoned and dilapidated barracks are to be repurposed for new uses.