Prague 5 wants to expand the heritage zone in its territory

Prague - The City Hall of Prague 5 aims to expand the heritage zone in its territory. The goal is to protect historically valuable buildings and the character of residential villa districts in Smíchov and Košíře. According to the city district leadership, the current extent of the zone is insufficient. This was announced today by the spokesperson for Prague 5, Lenka Abessi. The plan has already been approved by the city council, and the city hall has sent its request to the Ministry of Culture, which will decide on the potential expansion.

"The initial case that sparked this was the widely known proposal for the demolition of the villa of builder Viktor Beneš in Smíchov, which is located just beyond the boundary of the Smíchov Heritage Zone. This clearly demonstrated the need to extend the comprehensive heritage protection in Prague 5 as a systemic tool for the protection of cultural and historical values," stated Deputy Mayor Lukáš Herold (ODS).

The newly proposed boundary consists of five parts that connect to the existing zone. The main part, Hřebenka-Košíře, makes up the majority of the proposed area. Two additional parts are located in Malvazinky, southwest of the current heritage zone and in the area of the villa development Kesnerka and Konvářka.

The protected area is further expanded by three separate blocks at the borders of the existing zone. These include a block to the north of Na Hřebenkách street, a section between U Blaženky and Na Provaznici streets, and the third is located under Paví vrch northeast of K Vodojemu and Radlická streets.

"We want to have the possibility, together with heritage conservationists, to prevent changes to the character of these unique locations, their genius loci, at the expense of architecturally controversial and inappropriate interventions into these areas," added Herold.

Heritage protection in Prague is divided into several areas according to the city website. In the narrowest center, there is a city heritage reserve established in 1971, which has its protective zone. Further from the center are city heritage zones, which have been declared since the 1990s and include parts of Prague 2 that are not in the reserve, areas in Prague 3, 5, 6, 7, or 8. The system also includes a village heritage reserve in Stodůlky and Ruzyně, and several village heritage zones, such as Buďánka in Prague 5, in Střešovice, or in Hostivař.