In the courtyard at Jindřišská, demolition can reportedly begin already

Prague - In the courtyard between Wenceslas Square and the streets Jindřišská, Panská, and Na Příkopě, where a new commercial and office center is planned, demolitions of historically protected buildings have already been permitted, Richard Biegel, the manager of the Club for Old Prague, said to journalists today. The statement from the heritage officials of the Prague magistrate, who reportedly allowed the demolition, is being verified by ČTK.
    According to Biegel, the investor has obtained a demolition permit not only for the former printing houses at Wenceslas Square but also for the historically protected classicist house and the neo-Renaissance former printer of Prager Tagblatt. “The justification for the final demolition permit states that these are valuable buildings. I do not understand that,” Biegel said. “The demolition permit was issued for objects that, according to heritage officials and other institutions, do not have the value they deserve,” explained the project's architect Jakub Cigler.
    According to Michal Zachar, director of the Prague section of the National Heritage Institute, the Prager Tagblatt printing house has no value from a heritage perspective. In the case of the classicist house facing Jindřišská Street, however, he would choose a more careful approach. “I would keep the side upper wings there,” he said to ČTK.
    The block of houses was bought six years ago for 800 million crowns by Welwyn Company. The center is expected to feature 70,000 square meters of commercial, entertainment, and office space, as well as three floors of underground garages. The project has not yet been approved and is being assessed by the city development department.
    According to Biegel, the planned buildings would disrupt the Prague panorama, which has traditionally been dominated by buildings of a different format. “These are definitely not administrative centers on the scale of such a huge block,” he said.
    According to Cigler, the project will not disrupt the Prague panorama. “This project is of high quality, ambitious, and of course, its final form is far from defined. I don't want to assess it architecturally, but (the project) will definitely benefit (Prague) by utilizing a completely unused courtyard today,” said the architect.
    “The principle that only the street facades of historic buildings are left, and one baroque palace, while the rest is replaced by an administrative center that further rises with such towers into the panorama and significantly exceeds the surrounding buildings, is destructive for any historic city, especially for Prague,” Biegel said.