<Czech_Television> is looking for interested parties for dilapidated monuments

Brno - Czech Television is looking for interested parties in a new series titled Monuments for Sale, focusing on dilapidated castles, fortresses, monasteries, and other interesting structures that need repair. The Brno studio has so far filmed 17 episodes, which will be broadcast in September. The creators hope that the show will spark interest in monuments that are otherwise at risk of destruction. Some may even find new, responsible owners, the creative team believes.
    "As far as we know, there is no similar television format anywhere else. Therefore, we don't really know how the public will react," said Marie Kučerová, head dramaturge of the musical and theatrical creation center of the Brno studio, to journalists today. "We don't want to make a local history program, but truly offer monuments for sale while also entertaining," she stated. The host of the series is musician and actor Ondřej Havelka, for whom history is a hobby.
    In searching for interesting buildings, the television crew used a list of endangered monuments published by the National Heritage Institute. It has approximately 3,000 entries. The selection was reportedly not easy. A condition was the owner's consent, who wants to get rid of the structure, usually for financial reasons. "Sometimes a monument is so devastated that there isn't really anything to show. Other times, the ownership relations are too complicated. We also always looked for a story that the screen needs," said dramaturge Nora Obrtelová.
    In each episode, the show will present one monument for sale. The owner will disclose how much they want for it, a heritage expert will say something about the history of the building, and an architect will suggest how the building could be modified and used. Each episode will also include information about a similar monument that has already undergone a challenging restoration, serving as a positive example.
    In the first episodes, viewers will look at, for example, the castle in Libějovice in South Bohemia and the former provost's residence in Nedakonice near Olomouc. Although the show is being prepared by the Brno studio crew, more selected monuments so far are from Bohemia. "We found out that there are actually somewhat more endangered monuments in Bohemia than in Moravia," Kučerová said.
    Heritage experts like the television's intent. "The title may electrify some colleagues, but when they watch the show, they will realize that it can help a good cause," said Zdeněk Musil, spokesman for the Brno branch of the National Heritage Institute.