In Sušice, they are demolishing the deteriorating buildings of the former lumber complex

Sušice (Klatovy) - In Sušice, they are demolishing the dilapidated buildings of the former timber complex Solo. Large structures of the former shoe factory and later Jitona, built at the beginning of the last century, are being torn down. The area will be cleared and offered to investors; a specific project is not yet being prepared. This was stated by Mayor Petr Mottl (ODS) and city councilor and director of the Šumava Museum Zdeňka Řezníčková (ČSSD).

The buildings are not part of the most famous local match production, which ended in Sušice in 2008. Most of the Solo Match Factory on Nádražní Street is also scheduled to be leveled, and the Czech development company Fuertes Development intends to build a shopping center with Kaufland in its place. The Šumava Museum and opponents of the construction have been trying since 2013 to advocate for heritage protection for five buildings of the match factory. The Ministry of Culture approved the protection of two objects this January, namely the administrative building at the entrance and the adjacent red house, the oldest match factory, with the adjoining garden.

"They could be adapted, along with heritage preservationists, for an interactive exhibition on the history of matchmaking and crafts in the Šumava region, with demonstrations of production. But it will be up to the owners," said Řezníčková. If the buildings were transferred to the city, it is uncertain who would repair them and operate the exhibition.

The owner of the complex, the Brno group Solo Matches & Flames, has no objections to the heritage protection of the two houses, according to Řezníčková, but has appealed against the protection of the neighboring garden, where Fuertes wants to have a parking lot for the shopping center. An appeal process is underway at the ministry, and so the demolition of the match factory has not yet begun.

"The heritage protection is still being addressed, and nothing is decided yet. The demolished buildings are not related to that (shopping center)," the mayor stated. The city, which is not a participant in the zoning proceedings for the construction of the center, wants the area to be utilized meaningfully. "The current state is embarrassing, but unfortunately, our tools are not very powerful," he added.

The shopping center, costing 200 million crowns with a retail area of 5,000 square meters, is expected to create jobs for 200 people. "We have no problem with the heritage preservation of a part (two buildings) in the complex. We are revising the project accordingly and discussing it with the relevant state administration authorities," said the managing director of Fuertes, Zdeněk Přichystal. The developer, who has invested millions in the project preparation over two and a half years, cooperates in the pre-project phase with both the city and the owner of the complex.

"In the now-demolished, approximately 20-year-abandoned buildings, there was shoe production by the company Schwarzkopf before the war. It was an interesting industrial architecture that would also be worth preserving. But unfortunately, no one addressed this. So they (the owners of the complex) started this destruction," Řezníčková stated. However, according to her, the buildings were in a deplorable state. During the communist regime, Jitona produced furniture parts there and vacated the buildings shortly after 1989.