Prague wants to demolish a rare villa, it will save it as a monument
The municipality is preparing an appeal against the planned demolition of the Smíchov villa of the builder Viktor Beneš. In addition, Prague 5 plans to help register the building on the list of listed buildings.
When the news of permission to demolish the architect Beneš’s villa appeared on the official notice board of the Prague 5 building office on Tuesday, July 13, it started a wave of resentment, not only among the locals. Petitions began to appear on social networks and people came up with ideas on how to preserve the building that has been decorating Smíchov for almost 110 years.
After Wednesday’s extraordinary meeting of the Prague 5 City Council, its rescue is very close. The councilors have just approved a proposal to submit an application for the granting of monument protection both for the mentioned villa and other buildings in the residential residential areas of the city district. “We believe that it could be processed within about fourteen days,” said Lukáš Herold (ODS), deputy mayor of Prague 5. At the same time, we ask the councilor to appeal against the demolition decision.
Villa of architect Viktor Beneš and Haščák
The villa of architect Viktor Beneš, built in 1912, belongs to the Olomouc company SLAM-EXPO owned by Josef Slamance and also to Jaroslav Haščák and his wife Valéria. A Slovak businessman and former co-owner of the Penta Investments financial group began transferring his share to him after he was accused of corruption and money laundering last year.
The mayor of Prague, Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates), announced that the management of the metropolis will deal with the case and that the possibility to file an appeal will be on the agenda of the extraordinary meeting of the city council next Tuesday. “Unlike Prague 5, the municipality, thanks to the ownership of the adjacent land, can comment on the case,” Hřib told Seznam to the News and added: “It would certainly be a pity to demolish such a building. I am convinced that it has architectural and historical value, and could serve future generations. “
In Prague 5, demolition is nothing special
According to ČTK, the appeal will also be supported by Prague Sobě, which recently established its own organization in Prague 5 and has been involved in the case for a long time. “Together with local associations, we are preparing an initiative to declare the villa a cultural monument and also a petition that people are asking about. For a long time and with displeasure, we have been following the activities of the building authority in Prague 5 with our neighbors, “said Pavel Světlík, Prague’s city councilor to himself and the founder of the Prague 5 movement.
Radomír Kočí, a real estate broker and one of the administrators of the prazdnedomy.cz web portal, is also dissatisfied with the situation around demolition. The case of the architect Beneš’s villa is one of the first to apply. “One villa after another falls in Prague 5. From my point of view, the local building authority is quite handy, “said Seznam in the News.
According to Zuzana Hamanová, chairwoman of the committee for territorial development of the city district (for STAN), Prague 5 wants to prevent similar situations in the future.
A new proposal to expand the protected areas in Prague 5, which now often ends illogically, in the middle of residential development, is to contribute to this. The comprehensive expansion should concern the Na Hřebenkách district, where the battle for a historic villa is taking place, as well as Malvazinek, Dívčí hrady, or Cibulek or Žvahov. According to Haman, the goal is regular regular efforts for demolition, replacement of houses with larger buildings and possible stopping of the garden.
Nobody had planned a plan to demolish the villa
The Committee on Spatial Development of the Capital City first received a request from the owners of the building to change the zoning plan. However, he did not receive information about the demolition, which surfaced later. “We assumed that these were only changes in the purpose of using the building, not demolition. At the request of the owners, the self-government of Prague 5 also relied on this with the consent of the owners, ”Petr Zeman, the vice-president of Prague, explained to himself the question about the situation surrounding the approval of the demolition.
The owners’ intention to demolish the villa was also a surprise for Mayor Zdeněk Hřib. “Originally, there was only talk of reconstruction. I respect private property and free disposal of property, but we will still try to connect with the owners and explain everything, “Hřib responded. The owners had to supply all the necessary opinions and the building was not protected as a monument, but in the end the building authority had no choice but to allow the demolition.
“The Department of Monument Care of the City Hall had no comments on the demolition, because the villa is not a cultural monument and is not located in the monument zone,” Petr Zeman, the vice-president of Prague, explained to himself. The demolition order was issued by the Prague 5 Building Authority on Friday, July 9, and it is possible to appeal against it within 15 days of receiving the decision. The municipality will have it on the program on July 27.