Prague is in danger of being listed as an endangered UNESCO monument. Due to weak protection and skyscrapers
The historic center of Prague, which has been on the UNESCO list since 1992, is in danger of being listed as a threat. This list also manages the same organization and includes monuments that are in acute danger of extinction. According to UNESCO commissioners, Prague and the state do little to protect the historic center. According to the Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek, the problem can be solved, the state wants to reach an agreement.
The World Heritage Center writes about the threat of deletion UNESCO and the headquarters of the International Council on Monuments and Sites ICOMOS in a report prepared by their representatives after the spring monitoring visit to Prague.
Experts draw attention to the existing and planned high-rise buildings in Prague, and they also state the forthcoming new building law, which does not take into account the binding opinions of conservationists, as a threat to the historical center of Prague. The commissioners are also calling for a revision of the Metropolitan Plan.
The mission praised the facilities for improving the condition of some previously neglected, repaired National Museum. However, she drew attention to the elevated new buildings and structures in the monument reserve, which disrupt the historic roof landscape of the city. For example, the Drn building on Národní třída claims to be two storeys higher than it should be, which sets dangerous precedents for further undesirable additions to the buildings in the historic center.
According to Culture Councilor Hana Třeštíková (Prague Sobě), Prague received the commission’s report last week. “Representatives of UNESCO and the international professional organization ICOMOS arrived in Prague in March and themselves reflect in the current report that the position of the current coalition is different from that of the previous one, which left UNESCO concerned about the protection of monuments in Prague,” she said. Třeštíková. According to her, Prague and the Ministry of Culture are now discussing a report by UNESCO commissioners and the opinion should be completed in mid-November.
Drn is a multifunctional corner building on the corner of Národní and Mikulandská streets in Nové Město in Prague 1, which serves as offices, restaurants, shops and galleries. | Photo: Filip Šlapal
Do not build towers in Kavčí hory, the report advises
Commissioners are intervening in several areas, such as the negative high-rise buildings on the Pankrác Plain to the city skyline. They mention the construction of the V Tower building (originally called Epoque), reaching a height of 104 meters.
“Despite the objections of the World Heritage Committee, which recommended an upper limit of 60 to 70 meters for new buildings in the Pankrác pentagon after the 2008 mission,” the report said, asking the Czechia to ensure that it did not continue Central Group.
On the contrary, I have a positive view of the Smíchov City project, which, according to the commissioners, will be appropriately integrated into the existing historical structure of the city.
According to reports, it is now up to Prague and the Czech Republic to begin correcting this situation. At its 44th session next year, the World Heritage Committee will evaluate how this will work. In the event of confirmation of a identified or potential threat to the historical center of Prague, its possible inscription on the World Heritage List in Danger will be assessed on it.
The status of a UNESCO monument brings us to Prague the tourists we care about in Prague – cultural and educated. The proposed new building law is unacceptable not only because of the monuments, but also because of the lack of respect for the environment. Back to Prague: we have to stay at UNESCO, it’s our job.
– Jan Čižinský (@jancizinsky) October 24, 2019
There are over 50 items on the World Heritage List, from European sites there are Vienna, Liverpool and Byzantine temples in Kosovo. Several monuments of dozens of buildings have already been removed from the list in danger. The Elbe Valley in Dresden has been completely removed from the World Heritage List.
Prague is not responding to concerns and recommendations, the report says
UNESCO commissioners regretted the inaction of the state administration in protecting historic Prague. “The 2019 Reactive Monitoring Mission has shown regret that the State party has not responded to concerns, recommendations and requests for a number of large-scale development projects proposed within the buffer zone, monuments and wider surroundings, expressed in previous mission reports, or to the Committee’s decision calling for a constraint plan. high-rise buildings with the aim of visually disturbing the historic city landscape in Prague, “said UNESCO and ICOMOS commissioners in the mission report.
The set of measures approved by the World Heritage Committee was drawn up by the monitoring missions in close cooperation with the national authorities as early as 2010. ‘Mission reports always speak diplomatic language. The Czech Republic has committed itself together with the inscription of Prague on the UNESCO World Heritage List, “said Václav Girsa, President of the Czech National Committee ICOMOS.
Zaorálek: The situation can be managed, Prague will not end up like Dresden
According to the Minister of Culture Lubomír Zaorálek (ČSSD), it is premature to talk about the fact that the center of Prague could get on the list of endangered monuments. Negotiations are being held with the world organization and the situation can be managed, Zaorálek told reporters in the Chamber of Deputies on Thursday.
“UNESCO will now wait to see how we respond. Depending on how we deal with their reservations, further evaluation will take place,” he said. “The whole result may come to the UNESCO program sometime next year,” he added.
Zaorálek rejected a possible comparison of the situation in Prague with the development in Dresden, which UNESCO removed from the World Heritage List in 2009 due to the construction of a bridge over the Elbe.
“At the moment, it is not a matter of repeating something similar to what happened in Dresden. They held a referendum there, voted that they wanted the most, and UNESCO respected that they decided to go elsewhere. there is no situation in Prague, we want to agree in Prague, “said the Minister. He also noted that some cities listed as World Heritage sites are currently worse off than Prague.
Petra Hrušová from the Ministry of Culture said that the Ministry and the capital city of Prague work closely with the Institute of Planning and Development of Prague, the National Monuments Institute and other relevant institutions to prepare answers to individual points in the report.
“The reaction will be elaborated in detail in the Report on the State of Preservation of the Historic Center of Prague, and the World Heritage Committee has also submitted a report on this submission,” she said. According to her, some of the recommendations will be discussed together with the World Heritage Center during a joint international workshop in Prague on the topic of height regulation, which will take place in March 2020.