The village in the center of Prague is being rescued by volunteers, but now the development of Buďánek has frozen – ČT24 – Czech Television
The Worker’s colony of Budánek was built in Smíchov at the end of the nineteenth century by workers from a nearby mine and a brickyard. A village was created in the town with winding streets as pets. There was also a dairy and a grocery store.
The picturesque color was preserved practically until the 1980s, when some houses were inhabited by people from the underground, specifically the association around Ivan Martin Jirous called Magor and also the dissident Hradílek family.
In the normalization communist period, more important dissident family, the Germans, often visited Budánek. Jana Němcová became the wife of the leading figure of The Plastic People of the Universe, Mejla Hlavsa. Defending this band against the persecution of the communists was a prologue to the creation of Charter 77. Budanka therefore somewhat inadvertently penetrated significantly into modern Czech history.
“I like it there. And that’s why Mejla and I moved up there on the hill above Buďánka in 1978. And at the bottom, ten hills were bought by Sváťa Karásek, “Jana Němcová recalls.
Development after 2000
A political upheaval in 1989 saved the whole of Budánek from being demolished, but in the 1990s, with the exception of the houses of the Brabc and Hradíleks, the picturesque quarter became a dormitory for the homeless. Pervitin was cooked in some half-ruined houses.
At the beginning of the millennium, local patriots tried to revitalize the place. But the then mayor of Prague 5, Milan Jančík (ODS), decided to replace the majority of Budánky and demolish it for a place in a commercial development. “We are obliged to remove six buildings here in Budánky because they pose a general threat,” he said in 2001.
In 2013, the new City Hall of Prague 5 terminated the developer’s contract and began listening to local people on how the monument zone could be revived. “We have partnered with the Community Planning Center, which are professionals who deal with it. And together we sent out about four thousand questionnaires to people in the area, “describes Martin Dvořák, a member of the Budekek Protection Association.
From the discussions with the local public, the idea emerged of how Budánka would be transformed into various places of humanitarian and cultural projects, but also in the area of permanent housing. Architecturally, it would follow the original development, including alleys and courtyards. All in conjunction with modern architecture, which would not overshadow the traditional look.
Local initiative
The locals took care of the cultivation of the dark corners of Budánek. The Koloniál community space and the roofs of some buildings were co-financed by patrons, the other part came from grants. The Prague City Hall, and especially the City of Prague 5, which owns the entire land, contributed considerable sums.
In the last two years, however, relations between local civic activists and cooperating town halls have deteriorated a bit. More passionate about the application of the proportions of imitating old houses and their remains with architectural modernism.
“There are a bit of differences in the view of the monument, because conservationists have the idea that what can be saved should be restored or protected in the original style, if possible,” explains the Deputy Mayor of Prague 5 Tomáš Homola (STAN).
But finances are a more serious problem. In the difficult covid period, it is difficult to find sponsors and patrons who, five years ago, wanted money to help revive the place. “So far, we have fulfilled all the subsidy titles that have been announced in some way. We submitted applications, in some we were successful, in some we were not successful, but that’s just life, “says Martin Dvořák from the Enrolled Institute Budánka.
A dispute between activists and City Hall
The dispute between the spiritual mother of the Budánek’s restoration, Veronika Palečková, and the Deputy Mayor of Prague 5, Tomáš Homola, is now led by who and how will fulfill the ideological intentions and finance everything essential. The planned agreement between the local government and the activists represented by the Enrolled Budek Institute has not yet been signed.
However, the consensus is on the basic idea that commerce in Budánky will be minimal and that the main idea, ie to serve local citizens, will be preserved. “It’s very strange, because the councilors, who knew our project and I think they liked it a lot, prepared the press for the council in September 2020. That press was removed from the council,” Palečková thinks about why the agreement has not been signed yet. .
“No grant has been awarded at this time, and at the same time the city district was ready to do the reconstruction from its own resources, if Ms. Palečková agreed to transfer the project documentation and the building permit to the city district.
I actually registered certain differences of opinion, “responds Deputy Mayor Tomáš Homola.
At the moment, I have to find a compromise between the activists who are renewing Budánek and the city district of Prague 5. “Says Palečková.
“I would like the place to be alive and a community to form here, and we and our neighbors could somehow continue to make it a home and it will not become an open-air museum,” concludes local resident Žofie Hradílková Látalová.