The Vsetín court returned the Libušín case for further investigation to the state prosecutor

Vsetín - The District Court in Vsetín has returned the case of the 2014 fire at the Libušín lodge on Pustevny for further investigation to the state prosecutor, who will appeal the decision to the regional court. The indictment for general danger is faced by a fifty-year-old man from the Karviná region, who is suspected of neglecting the repair of the chimney structure in 2007. The national cultural monument serving as a restaurant burned down in March 2014, and the restoration will cost about 80 million CZK.

The Vsetín court made its decision, according to the website www.justice.cz, in a non-public session at the end of May, and is currently delivering the decision to the parties involved in the process. "I do not yet know the content of the decision. However, I will appeal it to the Regional Court in Ostrava, branch in Olomouc," said prosecutor Jiří Sachr to ČTK. According to him, the evidence in the case is sufficient. "The district court has a different opinion, so let's see what someone else says," the prosecutor added.

The accused faces up to eight years in prison for general danger through negligence. The Libušín lodge burned down on the night of March 2 to 3, 2014. Investigators found that the fire was not intentionally set and was not caused by an electrical fault. The location of the fire was determined to be the chimney structure. The accused was involved in its repair and was responsible for carrying out this work, according to the police.

Experts initially estimated the damage caused by the fire at more than 50 million crowns. According to a contract concluded by the Wallachian Open-Air Museum in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, which manages the monument, with the contracting company Archatt, the restoration of the monument will cost nearly 80 million crowns.

The original lodge was built in 1899 based on a design by architect Dušan Jurkovič. The interior of Libušín was decorated with frescoes depicting Moravian and Slovak legends based on designs by Mikoláš Alš. Unique were three Art Nouveau chandeliers, a sideboard, a greenhouse, and a clock. The furnishing included one hundred carved chairs.

The restored Libušín lodge should be completed within three years. This year, workers are expected to dismantle the remnants of Libušín, and in the autumn, the harvesting of selected wood will begin. Construction of the new building is set to start in the spring of next year.