The Trutnov councilors approved the construction of a cultural center

Trutnov - Trutnov's councilors authorized the city leadership at their meeting on Monday to select a company to develop a detailed project for the construction of a new cultural and congress center in Trutnov. The building, costing three hundred million crowns, could be completed in 2010, reports Mladá fronta Dnes (MfD) in its current issue for the Hradec Králové Region.
    "The project for the building permit will cost at least ten million crowns. We did not want to find ourselves in a situation where we discover that we have spent a lot of money on preparations and are going in the wrong direction. Therefore, such complex and lengthy preparations preceded the council's fundamental decision," said Trutnov Mayor Ivan Adamec. The town hall has already obtained the zoning decision, and Trutnov has invested approximately 14 million crowns in the preparation of the construction. The subsequent operation of the cultural facility could cost around two million crowns annually.
    "Nevertheless, I do not consider money to be the biggest problem. Financially, we are capable of sustaining both the construction and the operation without major issues, and we will certainly try to obtain subsidies for the construction. I believe that it was much more difficult to reach an agreement on the design of the new theater," said Adamec. The mayor believes that it is possible to build the new center by the end of the next electoral term. "In 2010, Trutnov will celebrate the 750th anniversary of its founding. I think it would be a nice gift for the round anniversary," said the mayor.
    Discussions about building a new cultural venue in Trutnov have been ongoing since 2000. The town hall found from a professional study that the thirty-three thousand inhabitants of the city have an insufficient supply of cultural facilities; the building was also supported by ninety percent of the city's residents in a sociological survey. Therefore, two years ago, the town hall announced an architectural competition, which was won by the proposal from Prague's AG STUDIA, which suggested placing a modern glass building on the site of the current parking lot in the Republic Square. According to the study, the cultural facility should offer a theater stage for 370 spectators, which could be converted into an arena with a capacity of up to 670 people. The space will also allow for organizing balls or concerts after the stages are removed.