Prague 5 plans to expand the heritage zone in Smíchov. He wants to do so by demolition Culture | News | Prague Gossip
The Prague 5 district has asked the Ministry of Culture to approve the expansion of the heritage zone on its territory. According to the town hall, the existing ones are insufficient and could lead to inappropriate interventions.
Pětka’s initiative has already been approved by the Capital City Council and is now on its way to the Ministry. By expanding the zone, the town hall wants to preserve the historical character of Smíchov and Košíř, as there are efforts to rebuild the area.
“The first 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. This clearly showed the need for the expansion of comprehensive monument protection in Prague 5 as a system tool for the protection of cultural and historical values.” the deputy mayor explained in a press release Lukáš Herold (ODS).
The villa was bought by a private owner, who decided to demolish it and build apartments on the site. The district then asked the city to declare it a cultural monument. It also appealed, as the owner of the neighboring land, against the building authority’s decision to demolish.
“The pressure to demolish valuable villas in Prague 5 has been noticeably higher in recent years. Our self-government does not have such powerful tools to legally intervene in similar situations, such as the case of Benešovka”, stated earlier on the website of the deputy mayor Tomas Homola (TENT).
The new boundaries of the monument zone follow the existing ones. “The main part of Hřebenek-Košíř makes up most of the majority of the territory. 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,” Pětky described in a press release Lenka Abessi.