City Council of Prague 5 » Prague 5 wants to expand the Smíchov Memorial Zone
07/09/2022
The municipal district of Prague 5 wants to expand the monument zone and thus preserve the historical character of the Smíchova and Košíř localities and protect the architectural and construction gems for the future generation. If the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic approves the plan for the Municipal District of Prague 5, it will be a breakthrough in the expansion of historic preservation in such a massive area of Smíchov.
The plan to expand the current Smíchov heritage zone with the fifth district leads to the belief that the existing Smíchov heritage zone is not sufficient for the current state of protection. The municipality is also aware of the consequences when the heritage zone does not reach the territory where it should.
“The initial case was the widely known proposal to demolish the villa of the builder Viktor Beneš in Smíchov, which is located just beyond the border of the Smíchov Monument Zone. He clearly showed the need for the expansion of comprehensive monument protection in Prague 5 as a systemic tool for the protection of cultural and historical values.” explains deputy mayor Lukáš Herold.
On the basis of the documents for the initiative, which the Municipal Council approved, an application was submitted to the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic for the extension of the existing monument zone to the territory of the Prague 5 Municipal Council. Architect Josef Holeček and his team worked for several months on the preparation of detailed documents.
The newly designed border of the conservation zone consists of five parts, which naturally follow the existing border of the conservation zone. The main part of Hřebenek-Košíř makes up most of the most common areas. The other two parts are located in Malvazinky (southwest of the existing conservation zone) and in the area of the Kesnerka and Konvářka residential areas. The protected area is further expanded by three separate blocks at the borders of the existing zones. It is a block to the north of Na Hřebenkách Street, a block enclosed by U Blaženky and Na Provaznici Streets, and a block under Pavím vrch in the northeastern quadrant of K Vodojemu and Radlická Streets. The goal of the Municipal Council of Prague 5 is to preserve the original character of the residential residential districts on its territory.
“We want to be able to prevent changes in the character of unique localities, their genia loci, at the expense of architecturally contradictory and inappropriate interventions in these areas together with preservationists,” adds councilor Herold.