In Prague, two renovations of large former military buildings are being prepared

Prague - Two state institutions are preparing expensive renovations of former military facilities in the center of Prague. These involve unused barracks and the Invalidovna complex, both located in Karlín. The representatives of the Ministry of Justice, which owns the barracks, and the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ), which manages the Invalidovna, informed ČTK about this. The metropolis also houses bunkers that are part of the civil protection shelter system.

The NPÚ took over the Invalidovna complex last May from the Office for State Representation in Property Matters. The institute plans to establish an information center and a café in the complex, while other spaces will serve the NPÚ offices, departments of the Ministry of Culture, educational activities, and local community life.

"The renovation of the Invalidovna is currently in the documentation preparation phase. We expect the renovation to be completed in 2024 to 2025; however, we are preparing to open it to the public on selected days of the week starting from April this year. The restoration of the building is estimated to cost around one billion crowns,” said NPÚ spokesperson Jana Hartmanová to ČTK.

Another former facility that is expected to be renovated is the barracks near the Negrelli Viaduct in Karlín. "We are mapping the situation to see whether and how we will handle the facility. Discussions on specific plans regarding the renovation and its potential funding will take place," stated the spokesperson of the Ministry of Justice, Vladimír Řepka.

Currently, a social-cultural center operates within the barracks area, which has a contract until 2020 and would like to extend it. According to Řepka, discussions on this matter will also take place. Renovation of the 19th-century building would require investments in the range of billions, which the ministry has not secured yet. The building was previously owned by the Ministry of Defense, which unsuccessfully attempted to sell it at auction. The Ministry of Justice took over the building in 2016.

The metropolis also features numerous former military bunkers, which primarily serve as civil defense shelters. There are 741 of them in Prague, and in case of need, a total of 492,000 people can take cover there. Some shelters are sometimes open to the public, for example, the shelter on Folimanka in Prague 2, which is one of the largest in the metropolis and was built at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s.