The dilapidated Louka Monastery will be acquired by the town of Znojmo from the state

Znojmo - The Louka Monastery in Znojmo, which is a significant cultural monument, will be transferred to the city of Znojmo by the state. The Office for the Representation of the State in Property Affairs (ÚZSVM) is preparing the final wording of the contract for the gratuitous transfer of ownership. This was announced today by the head of the communication department of ÚZSVM, Izabela Noveská. According to the mayor of Znojmo, Pavel Balík, the city agrees with the transfer, although it had hoped the dilapidated landmark would continue to be owned by the state.
    The office will transfer the monastery under restrictive conditions concerning its future use. "ÚZSVM wants to ensure proper usage and management of cultural monuments in the Czech Republic. In case these contractual agreements are not adhered to, ÚZSVM will include a condition in the contract for a return of the property to the state free of charge," Noveská stated.
    According to the mayor of Znojmo, the city will gradually revitalize the monument that has long been in decline. "It may take around ten years. We envision some exhibition use; part of the building could house a university department. We have several projects," Balík told ČTK. The company Znovín Znojmo is already operating on the ground floor and basement of the building.
    The repairs to the monastery will also be gradual, with costs potentially exceeding one billion crowns. Znojmo cannot release this amount from its budget and is hoping for state subsidies as well as contributions from the European Union. According to Balík, institutions that will find their headquarters in the monastery buildings in the coming years could also contribute to the repairs. For financial reasons, the people of Znojmo wished for the monastery to be owned by the state. "The transfer to the city is, however, the second-best option," Balík noted.
    The Premonstratensian monastery was founded by the Znojmo prince Conrad Otto in 1190. It was sacked during the Hussite Wars in 1425 and extensively rebuilt afterward. In the 1740s, Prokop Diviš served there as prior and conducted experiments with electricity. He constructed the electric musical instrument "Denis d'or" in the monastery and the world's first grounded lightning rod at the nearby rectory in Přímětice. Part of the monastery served as a tobacco processing factory from 1802 to 1821. In 1805, Emperor Napoleon stopped there on his way to Slavkov. From 1869, the entire area was continuously used as barracks until 1993. In recent years, it has gradually been under repair.