In recent weeks, the city of Hradec Králové has demolished a dilapidated 19th-century tannery in the Kukleny district. Workers dismantled the building made of masonry by hand. Only the chimney remains as a reminder of the original large factory site. Petr Vinklář, a spokesman for the town hall announced. The city has kept the preserved bricks from the demolition for possible future use in construction or repair of buildings. Buildings made of solid brickwork are typical for Hradec Králové.
The town hall decided to demolish the last remaining building on the tannery site as early as 2021. Already in 2014, the city had the clock tower taken down from the factory hall and placed in storage at the airport for future use.
Workers began demolition in early February, dismantled the roof and roof trusses in mid-February, and then set about dismantling the masonry with cleaning and palletising the usable bricks. “At the moment, the pallets of bricks are being taken to the storage hall. This will be followed by removal of rubble, remaining demolition and earthworks. Everything should be ready by May 19,” the spokesman said.
The city intends to use the space of the former tannery. “We have a study that contains several proposals for the solution of this area. A new Kuklensk square could be created here. It could then include a new building that will incorporate the historical elements of the old tannery and will serve the locals for socio-cultural purposes,” the city’s chief architect Petr Brůna said earlier.
In the past, the town hall had planned to build a social housing facility for the elderly on the site of the dilapidated tannery. Around 17 years ago, the developer Eube wanted to buy the tannery from the city and then convert it into a commercial centre and luxury loft apartments. But in 2010 Eube went bankrupt and the project was abandoned.
Unlike the tannery, the town hall intends to preserve the site of the former First Republic slaughterhouse on Kydlinovská Street in the northwestern part of the town. The city coalition that emerged from last year’s elections has made the development of the site and its transformation one of the important issues in its programme statement. Some of the city’s inhabitants have also expressed their support for the preservation of the slaughterhouse and its use for cultural purposes, for example, in a petition.
Source: Hradec Králové city hall and CTK
