The preservationists comment on cross-country skiing at the Castle

Prague - Heritage experts are not fundamentally against holding one of the World Cup ski racing events in Hradčanské Square in Prague. It is set to take place at the end of December, and up to 2,000 cubic meters of snow will be brought to the site. Heritage experts expect that the monuments will not be damaged. However, some believe a better location could be found. The idea is also liked by Prague's Mayor Pavel Bém (ODS).
    "Certainly yes. Or rather: why not?" Bém replied to ČTK when asked if such an event belongs in the Prague Heritage Reserve. "It won't harm anything; it will help the city's marketing," noted the mayor. The opposite opinion is held by the chairwoman of the Club for Old Prague, Kateřina Bečková. "Such a type of race absolutely does not belong in the historic center," she told ČTK.
    Ondřej Šefců from the National Heritage Institute stated that he doesn't want to say he is fundamentally against it. He pointed out that the main sites of the heritage reserve are already overloaded and that there is an effort to direct tourists to other destinations. "I think other places could have been found. Prague is not just Charles Bridge and the Castle," Šefců told ČTK.
    However, he stated that it cannot be said that a ski race in Hradčanské Square is inappropriate. "It's a cheap way to sell the event, having the Castle in the background," the heritage expert remarked. He noted that the competition cannot be compared, for example, to a reception by Louis Vuitton that wanted to host last year on Charles Bridge. At that time, there was a unified wave of criticism, and the private party eventually took place on Alšovo nábřeží. The race is a public event, Šefců added.
    "If the snow and so on do not technically threaten the monument, then why not? The tournament celebrating Charles Bridge was held on sand, and no one minded," said Jan Kněžínek, the director of the city’s heritage office, to ČTK. According to him, joy belongs in the streets. "But with some measure," Kněžínek emphasized. The director of the Prague branch of the National Heritage Institute, Michael Zachař, was not available today. Through a text message, he conveyed that holding the race is new information for him, and he knows nothing about it.
    The World Cup in ski racing will take place in Hradčanské Square in Prague on Sunday, December 30, former skier Kateřina Neumannová and the director of the cross-country skiing section of the International Ski Federation FIS, Jürg Capol, announced today. The sprint course will measure about half a kilometer, and two laps will be raced. Snow will be stored at Strahov, supplied by 400 to 500 trucks. The budget for the race is approximately 15 million crowns.