The Prague 1 Council did not adopt any resolution regarding the Jindřišská Tower

Prague - The city council of the Prague 1 district today did not adopt any resolutions regarding the potential purchase of the Jindřišská Tower, which is being offered for sale by the Prague Archbishopric. The proposal presented by Deputy Mayor Tomáš Heres (ODS), that the Prague City Hall should strive to acquire the monument in the city center, did not receive enough votes. The opposition proposal, stating that Prague 1 is not interested in acquiring the tower, also failed to gain the necessary support.

The Jindřišská Tower is part of the Prague heritage reserve listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. According to Heres, the Prague Archbishopric is offering it for a minimum price of 70 million. Currently, according to the Deputy Mayor, 16 entities are interested in purchasing the monument.

Heres described the acquisition of the property by the city hall as unfavorable and abstained from voting during the council meeting. He cited one of the reasons as the fact that the building is leased for decades and is subject to water damage. The long-term tenant of the tower is the company Jindřišská věž, s.r.o., owned by builder and entrepreneur Martin Podzimka. The lease contract for the property, established in 2000, is valid until the end of 2044. The General Vicar of the Prague Archdiocese, Jan Balík, stated earlier that the tower requires repairs that would require an investment of about 20 to 30 million crowns.

Against the purchase of the medieval tower by Prague 1 spoke Mayor Terezie Radoměřská (TOP 09) and other members of the coalition. "Prague 1 does not have the means to purchase a historical monument; it has never belonged to the municipal district; this is not some kind of buyback into the municipal property," the mayor said before the vote.

Opposition councilors Petr Burger (KDU-ČSL/ We who live here), former mayor Petr Hejma (BEZPP/ We who live here), and Pavel Marc (Green Party/ Prague 1 for Itself) expressed similar views. His resolution proposal, stating that Prague 1 is not interested in acquiring the tower, was supported by five of the 23 present councilors. Even fewer voted in favor of the proposal submitted by the councilor, which received support from three members of the council. A total of 14 votes are needed for the resolution to be approved. Members of the political club Our PRAHA 1 rejected the purchase of the tower at the offered commercial price, said councilor Karel Ulm (BEZPP/ Our PRAHA 1). "We can imagine it at a symbolic price, which, however, is not being offered," he said.

The Prague City Hall is considering the purchase of the tower. At the end of November, Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) announced that the capital city wants to strive for the purchase of the tower. According to its General Vicar, the Prague Archbishopric does not plan to prepare special conditions for Prague as a potential buyer of the tower. The Church, according to the General Vicar, must act as a good steward and sell property that is economically disadvantageous to it in the best possible way. Balík stated in November after a meeting with representatives from Prague that the archbishopric would give the city time to prepare an offer by the end of the year.

The Jindřišská Tower is a 15th-century building that stands nearly 66 meters tall. It currently houses a souvenir shop, a whisky café, and a gallery across its ten floors. The tower is also used for cultural programs. The top floor features an observation deck with a view of the Prague skyline.