The Prague 1 City Council yesterday adopted no resolution on the possible purchase of the Jindřiška Tower, which is being offered for sale by the Prague Archbishopric. A proposal put forward by Deputy Mayor Tomáš Heres (ODS) that the Prague City Council should seek to acquire the monument in the centre of the capital failed to win enough votes. The necessary support was also not obtained by the opposition motion, which stated that Prague 1 was not interested in acquiring the tower.
The Jindřiška Tower is part of the Prague Monument Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to Heres, the Prague Archbishopric is offering it for a minimum price of CZK 70 million. According to the deputy mayor, 16 entities are now interested in buying the monument.
Heres described the purchase of the property by the town hall as disadvantageous and abstained from voting in the council’s decision. One of the reasons he gave was that the property is leased for decades and is leaking. The long-term tenant of the tower is the company Jindřišská věž, s.r.o., owned by the builder and businessman Martin Podzimek. The property lease agreement from 2000 was concluded for a definite period until the end of 2044. The Vicar General of the Prague Archdiocese, Jan Balík, has previously said that the tower requires an investment of about CZK 20 to 30 million for repairs.
Mayor Terezie Radoměřská (TOP 09) and other members of the coalition also opposed the purchase of the medieval tower. “Prague 1 does not have the means to buy a historical monument, it has never been owned by the municipality, it is not a kind of buy-back to the municipality,” the mayor said before the vote.
Similar comments were made by opposition councillors Petr Burger (KDU-ČSL/ We Who Live Here), former mayor Petr Hejma (BEZPP/We Who Live Here) and Pavel Marc (Green Party/Praha 1 Sobě). His motion for a resolution that Prague 1 is not interested in acquiring the tower, was supported by five of the 23 councillors present. Even fewer voted in favour of the proposal put forward by the councillor, which was supported by three councillors. The resolution needs 14 votes to be approved. The purchase of the tower at the offered commercial price was rejected by members of the political club Naše PRAHA 1, said councillor Karel Ulm (BEZPP/ Naše PRAHA 1).
The purchase of the tower is being considered by the Prague City Council. Mayor Zdeněk Hřib (Pirates) announced at the end of November that the capital wants to seek to buy the tower. According to its vicar general, the Prague Archbishopric does not plan to prepare special conditions for Prague as a potential bidder for the tower. According to the vicar general, the church must act as a good steward and sell the property that is economically disadvantageous to it in the best possible way. Balik said in November after a meeting with Prague representatives that the archbishopric would give the city time to prepare an offer by the end of the year.
The Jindřiška Tower is a 15th-century structure that is nearly 66 metres high. The ten floors now house a souvenir shop, a whiskey-cafe or a gallery. The tower is also used for cultural programmes. On the top floor there is a view of the Prague skyline.
Source: CTK
