The head of the History of Art Institute Tomáš Winter has come out swinging against a proposal by Prague’s mayor Adriana Krnáčová to restructure the way historic monuments are cared for. Her most controversial idea is to remove the right of the National Monuments Office (NPU) to block the approval of planning permits for construction work on listed buildings. She says the state’s own monuments department is capable of doing the job, but her critics warn that bureaucrats lack the necessary expertise. “We’re seriously disturbed by reports about the attempt to end the NPU’s important duties and hand the matter of judging of monuments issues over to the executive organs of the state bureacracy,” writes Winter. He warns that such a change would lead to “enormous, irreperable damage in the care for a cultural legacy of international importance…We believe that the bill isn’t an attempt to improve care for cultural assets but rather a pre-election attempt to cater to the commercial interests of lobbyists and development group.”
