The dilapidated Schlaraffia residence in Jablonec is for sale for one crown

Jablonec nad Nisou - Several hundred people have thus far signed a petition for the rescue of the decaying former residence of the men’s association Schlaraffia in Jablonec nad Nisou. They fear that after the Ministry of Culture's negative stance on classifying the castle as a monument, it will face demolition. The current owner, the company Malina-Safety, is now offering the building without land for one crown. CTK was informed of this today by the company’s managing director Radek Malina.
However, any interested party would also have to pay the costs of dismantling the building and its removal. The new owner would thus be estimated to pay hundreds of thousands to millions. "This approach would allow for the rebuilding of the structure in another, more suitable location. Further use of this cultural and tourist landmark could continue to remind us of the activities of the recesional association Schlaraffia," Malina stated.
The author of the petition, student Tereza Žembová, is not yet aware of any further details regarding the current owner's offer for the castle near the bus station. "I don’t think that would be a solution," she told CTK. She is concerned whether moving the dilapidated building would hurt it even more. If moving were shown to be a real option, she admits she would try to organize a public fundraiser for its financing. However, she currently considers the priority to be to persuade the ministry to reconsider its opinion and to classify the men's association's residence as a cultural monument. She wants to gather at least 20,000 signatures to give the petition some weight. "I have 300 signatures with me, but the other sheets have not reached me yet," she said.
The ministry rejected the request to register the building on the list of cultural monuments last December, despite the support of the Jablonec city hall. "The justification states that the building is not particularly architecturally valuable, and its heritage and cultural values lie in its connection with the Schlaraffia association. Given the structural condition of the building, any restoration would essentially mean constructing a copy of the building, and further proceedings on declaring the house a cultural monument would be pointless," stated Jablonec city hall spokesperson Martina Hozová.
The company Malina-Safety, with over 60 employees, originally wanted to incorporate the castle into the expansion of its production and administrative complex. However, according to Malina, they could not agree with the city regarding the purchase of land adjacent to their plant, and they abandoned the original project.
The castle near the bus station was built in 1908 and, as the residence of one of Schlaraffia’s clubs, was exceptional because this association usually rented its premises or adapted existing buildings. Schlaraffia gathered a male society and better-off layers. The activities of the association had a recreational character.