The government will evaluate the exchange of the Prague palace for the Berlin land

Prague/Berlin - The Czech government will discuss next week the possibility of exchanging the Prague Lobkowicz Palace for land in the center of Berlin for the needs of the embassies of both countries. The German diplomacy is interested in the Malá Strana palace, which has been long rented. The Czech Republic is also trying to resolve its issues with the inadequate embassy in the German metropolis.
German diplomats have been interested in the palace for a long time; last autumn they offered a plot of land near the famous Tiergarten park, where the Czech Republic would have to construct a new embassy building. Prime Minister Petr Nečas confirmed at the time that negotiations with Berlin on this matter were taking place, stating that the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs is analyzing the offer.
The agenda for next week's government meeting now includes the item "Intention to address the issue of properties for the diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany", which according to ČTK sources pertains to the contemplated property exchange. The government is expected to have a direct exchange option for the palace and land, or an option involving two successive steps, in which they would first sell the palace and then use part of the proceeds to buy the relevant land.
In the past, Berlin has offered the Czech diplomacy, for example, the building of the former American embassy. Germany values the Lobkowicz Palace; it was from its balcony that refugees from East Germany were informed in the autumn of 1989 that they had the opportunity to leave for the West. The possibility of departure to the then Federal Republic of Germany was announced from the balcony by the then West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher to about 4,000 East Germans in September 1989.
Some, like Jiří Lobkowicz from the Mělník branch of the Lobkowicz family, oppose the possible sale of the palace to Germany or the exchange of the building. "Attempts at exchanges or the sale of this country's heritage, I consider insensitive not only because of my family's history but also for the legacy of this country," he stated last year.
The palace was built around 1704. It was originally a one-story building with three wings. After a fire in 1768, it was restored, and an additional floor was added. Behind the building, at the foot of Petřín, lies a garden.