Hradec wants to have modern urbanism in UNESCO

Hradec Králové - Hradec Králové has taken the first step towards listing the interwar architecture in the city on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Based on a new comparative study, the city will submit a proposal to the Ministry of Culture to include the modern architecture and urbanism of Hradec Králové on the national Indicative List of UNESCO, city officials told journalists today.

Without the monument being on this list for at least a year prior to the application, it cannot be registered on the UNESCO list itself. "The Indicative List is an official nomination of the individual contracting parties to the UNESCO World Heritage list," said Hradec Králové Mayor Zdeněk Fink. The proposal still needs to be approved by the city council.

In addition to recommending submitting a proposal for inscription on the national indicative list, the study advises declaring significant buildings designed by Gočár as national cultural monuments and creating a second heritage reserve, which should consist of the so-called new historic center of Hradec Králové in the western part of the second city ring. "This part of the city deserves a higher level of heritage protection than the existing heritage zone. The modern architecture of Hradec is, according to the completed study, not only exceptionally distinctive on a nationwide scale," said Fink.

The city intends to have the objects of the Sbor kněze Ambrože complex and the school district with the kindergarten, elementary school, and gymnasium on Tylovo nábřeží declared national cultural monuments. "If something aspires to the UNESCO list, it should have the highest level of heritage protection according to domestic legislation. While there are several medieval towns, there are very few deliberately designed towns from the 1920s and 1930s in the Czech Republic," said Jan Falta, head of the heritage care department of the city hall. According to him, the modern architecture of Hradec comprehensively documents the development of urbanism and architecture from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of World War II. "It confirms the unique dialogue of the enlightened mayor with generations of leading Czech architects and urban planners, which allowed the transportation and technical arrangement of the city to be connected with its representative and public spaces," Falta described the conclusions of the comparative study, which has been developed since 2013.

However, the conclusion of the study, that Hradec has no direct competitor among candidates for inscription on the UNESCO list, does not mean certainty of success for the city. "If Hradec manages to get on at least the indicative list, it will be a success," added Fink.

The only modern Czech building included on the UNESCO list is the Tugendhat Villa in Brno, which was completed 88 years ago.