In Liberec, there will likely be an Alzheimer's center at the site of the former eye sanatorium

Liberec – Liberec is likely to sell the former eye sanatorium in Machnín for 20.863 million crowns to the Prague company Domov Nepomuk. The company plans to build an Alzheimer’s center with a capacity of 162 beds and then further expand it into a retirement home. This was announced to journalists today by the Deputy Mayor of Liberec, Adam Lenert (ANO). The city council has approved the transaction, but it still needs to be approved by the Liberec city assembly.

The dilapidated three-hectare site has no use for the municipality and has been trying to sell it since 2021. The former eye sanatorium, also known as the castle or Kleinert’s villa, was originally an elegant residence set in a well-maintained forest park with a view of the ruins of the Hamrštejn castle. Today, it is in a deplorable state and has been leaking for a long time.

The deputy welcomes the plan of the private company. "There will remain civic amenities that have always been there. So it is not any intention that would burden the city in any way. I am very glad that the object has been successfully sold and that there is a prospect of creating a nice environment and nice facilities for the social services that are needed in the area of the city of Liberec," said Lenert.

The Machnín castle was likely built as a family residence in 1882 by the factory owner Adolf Schwab, a politician and textile factory owner. After nationalization, it became a sanatorium where children with eye defects from all over the country came to be treated. The city owned the site until 1999, when it sold the castle building along with the caretaker's house and a watchtower on an area of nearly 500 m², retaining only the surrounding land of about three hectares. However, a plan by several Liberec doctors who committed to building a modern sanatorium failed. Liberec regained all the buildings into its ownership in 2019 for 2.8 million crowns.