In the Krkonoš Mountains, the demolition of the Sokolská Lodge has begun

Janské Lázně - Demolition of the Sokolská Bouda has begun on Černá hora in the Krkonoš Mountains. The four-story wooden building, painted in typical red, is expected to disappear during the next year. A new facility featuring a restaurant, microbrewery, and accommodation will be built in its place. This was stated today by Martin Kulík, co-owner of the property. The former mountain hotel, located at an altitude of 1270 meters, stands in the cadastral area of the Janské Lázně ski resort in the Trutnov area.

"The demolition started about a month ago, whatever can be done before winter will be completed. Next year, if we want to finish the demolition, we will continue. Something new could start being built there no sooner than 2021," Kulík told ČTK.

He did not comment on the costs of demolition and the construction of the new building. "I don't want to disclose that yet," Kulík said to ČTK, who also owns the nearby Ski Resort in Malá Úpa, which has the Trautenberk brewery in the former Tippelt's hut.

In order for the construction of the new Sokolská Bouda, which will not be a replica of the original building, to begin, it is necessary to change the zoning plan. The investor wants to shift the new building more than 30 meters while maintaining the same ground plan, further away from the road. "The change of the zoning plan has not yet occurred, but it is approaching. That’s why we have started the demolition," Kulík told ČTK.

From the land registry and the commercial register, it follows that the owner of the Sokolská Bouda is the eponymous joint-stock company, which was established with the aim of building a new Sokolská Bouda. The company was founded in December 2016 by Martin Kulík, Jiří Váchal, billionaire Tomáš Němec, and Mega Plus represented by managing director and influential mountain entrepreneur Richard Kirnig working in the Krkonoš Mountains. Kulík is the chairman of the board, and Němec is the chairman of the supervisory board. Kirnig, who is a member of the supervisory board, owns the Skiresort Černá hora - Pec, which includes the ski resorts Janské Lázně, Pec pod Sněžkou, Velká Úpa, Černý Důl, and Svoboda nad Úpou.

The project for the new Sokolská Bouda is associated with the originally planned connection of the ski resorts Černý Důl, Janské Lázně, and Pec pod Sněžkou into one large resort, which was to offer up to 60 kilometers of ski slopes and connecting trails. The new Sokolská Bouda was to be at the center of activities in the eastern Krkonoš. Kulík previously emphasized that the construction of the Sokolská Bouda and the project of the connected ski resort are two separate initiatives. "Connecting the resorts is now not in sight," Kulík told ČTK today.

From a statement by Richard Kirnig in November 2018, it emerged that the owner of SkiResort Černá hora - Pec, the Mega Plus company, is halting investments in the planned ski resort connections via slopes, roads, and cable cars. He stated this at the founding meeting of the council in Pec pod Sněžkou shortly after the police intervention in the mountain resort and other locations in the Trutnov area.

In January, the police charged nine individuals and one legal entity in the so-called Krkonoš case with subsidy fraud and damage to the financial interests of the EU and other offenses. Among the accused are also the mayor of Pec, Alan Tomášek (SNK Sněžka), and the former director of KRNAP, Jan Hřebačka. However, the police have not yet confirmed the names of the accused. The criminal activities relate to the town of Pec pod Sněžkou and the area entrusted to the management of KRNAP.