UNESCO wants to inspect Blanka in December, the ministry is against it

Prague - UNESCO inspectors plan to verify the impact of the Blanka tunnel construction on the Prague Heritage Reserve as early as December. However, the date is not favored by the Ministry of Culture (MK), as officials reportedly will not have enough time to prepare the necessary materials for the inspectors. They thus insist on a March date, which they offered to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization back in the summer, said Zdeněk Novák, the senior director of the UNESCO and Heritage section at the Czech Ministry of Culture, to ČTK.
UNESCO wants to send a mission to Prague based on a letter written by members of the petition committee "We Want the Truth About the Tunnel." They are concerned that the construction of the northwestern part of the city ring road, of which the Blanka tunnel is a part, will damage the Prague Heritage Reserve.
The problem has already been addressed by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at its June meeting in Seville, Spain. At that time, they expressed "deep concern over the potential impacts of the Blanka tunnel complex."
Despite the relatively harsh tone of the resolution, Czech representatives remain calm. "We consider it a misunderstanding; the tunnels do not pose a danger to Prague," Novák said. He added that the tunnel complex is, on the contrary, a response to the dangers pointed out by the UNESCO mission in 2007 regarding the number of cars in the historic center of the capital. "I don't think the mission will cause any problems," he added.
A similar opinion is held by the president of the Czech National Committee of ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) Josef Štulc. "From the perspective of cultural values, Prague as a whole is not threatened," he stated. According to him, the greater problem lies with the skyscrapers in the Pankrác Plain.
However, Štulc sees an issue in the failure of the Czech Republic to fulfill its commitment to inform UNESCO in a timely manner about all disputed constructions. According to him, this endangers the Czech Republic's credibility with this organization, which is reflected, for example, in the fact that no Czech monument has been entered on the UNESCO list since 2002.
On the other hand, Neela Winkelmann-Heyrovská from the petition committee "We Want the Truth About the Tunnel" believes that the construction of the tunnels has already harmed the heritage reserve. According to her, the construction destroyed, for example, a gardeners' colony in Malovanka, and allegedly dozens of mature trees over 100 years old were cleared at other construction sites. "According to UNESCO, protection extends to everything within the heritage reserve, including greenery," Winkelmann-Heyrovská told ČTK.
She also fears the consequences of tunneling around Prague Castle, which is being planned. According to her, such an intervention could also affect the walls of Prague Castle. "Tunneling will cause a drop in groundwater levels. No one knows what this will do. It is a very dangerous endeavor, and the city hall is silent about all of this," she noted. "If we do not want to protect the heritage reserve, then let us just remove it from the list," she added.
Štulc adds that the warning from the petition committee came too late. "Now the project is already irreversible," he stated.
Whether the Blanka tunnel complex is damaging the heritage reserve will be assessed by an independent expert sent by UNESCO to Prague. However, while UNESCO is preparing for the inspection in December, the Czech side insists on the March date. "No side will have time for mere courtesy visits," emphasizes Novák, adding that the necessary materials that UNESCO wants to have available will not be ready by December.