The burnt-out castle in Zahrádky in the Českolipsko region is for sale. The Prague Charles University, which owns it, is offering it through the Prague real estate agency I.E.T. Reality. It wants CZK 32.27 million for the monument, but in case of a larger number of bidders, an auction may be used. The castle burned down at the end of January 2003 and has been empty since then, the university has no money for its restoration and no subsidies have been obtained. The cost of restoration is estimated at more than CZK 600 million.
The sale was highlighted today by the Liberec supplement of Mladá fronta DNES. The new owner should take into account that the castle is a cultural monument. The broker Ondřej Svozil points out that he will have to consult with the conservationists for any modifications. He does not see any other disadvantages that could influence the decision of a potential new owner. “You can live there, you don’t have to let anyone in to visit,” Svozil told the newspaper, adding that the building has not been used in the last 20 years and people have only visited the adjacent gardens.
The university has owned the castle, built in the second half of the 16th century, since 1974. It had a hotel with 96 beds, a conference hall and classrooms. It was used for language teaching and was a valuable source of money for the school. A fire engulfed the building on 30 January 2003 and spread to the entire building at that time. One of the region’s most treasured landmarks was left with only the exterior walls and was rained on for more than a year before it was given at least a temporary roof. To prevent further devastation, the building has a caretaker and the school regularly invests in its maintenance.
The campus is for sale including more than seven hectares of land, a farmyard, the caretaker’s house and greenhouses. The municipality of Zahrádky was previously interested in the land adjacent to the park and the stable building and has been in negotiations with the university. “We only found out about the sale after it was advertised without prior communication from the owner, which was quite surprising,” Mayor Martin Macho (NEZ) told the newspaper. He said the municipality with 700 inhabitants does not have the money to buy the entire complex and the costly reconstruction would be a big bite for the municipality. He fears that a hostel could be built on the site in order to quickly recoup the investment.
Source: Mladá fronta DNES and CTK
Photo: Mapy.cz
