The Property Office is today auctioning the Veleslavín Castle in Prague

Prague - The Office for Representation of the State in Property Affairs (ÚZSVM) is today offering the Prague Veleslavín Castle for sale in an electronic auction. The auction will run until Thursday at 10:00 AM, with the starting price set by ÚZSVM at 580 million crowns and a minimum bid of 50,000 crowns. The office previously stated that it would allow Prague and the district of Prague 6 to match the highest bid from the auction if they express interest in purchasing the castle. Representatives of the Prague City Hall have not yet wanted to predict whether they will take advantage of this option.

The property office had previously suggested including Veleslavín Castle in a real estate exchange between Prague and the state, which ultimately did not occur. Prague's request for a free transfer was rejected by ÚZSVM. The district of Prague 6 recently reached an agreement with the property office for an annual loan.

In the case of a successful auction, Veleslavín Castle could become one of the most lucrative sales that ÚZSVM has carried out. The highest amount of 790 million crowns was previously received by the state from the sale of a property in náměstí Republiky in Prague. The second most successful auction was the sale of the Prague site U Půjčovny, which sold for 355.1 million crowns after 100 bids.

Veleslavín Castle, with its historic park, spans three hectares and dates back to around 1725. It was built according to the plans of Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer for Empress Amálie of Brunswick. In the first half of the 20th century, it served as a neurological sanatorium founded by Leo Kosák and one of the discoverers of Alzheimer's disease, Oskar Fischer. Patients treated there included Charlotta Garrigue Masaryková and Milena Jesenská.

After the communist takeover, the site was nationalized. After the revolution, various institutions leased the building. It is now under ÚZSVM, which acquired the site from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs in 2015. The last reconstruction of the site was carried out in 1986.