The decision on the heritage protection of Villa Anička is final

Hradec Králové - The decision that the Art Nouveau villa Anička in the center of Hradec Králové is a cultural monument is final. The Minister of Culture rejected the appeal submitted at the end of February by the owner of the property, Generali Insurance. This was reported by today’s Deník in the Hradec Králové regional edition. The insurance company planned to convert the villa into a modern administrative center.
    "We are currently considering further steps against the verdict of the Ministry of Culture. A subsequent course of action has not yet been decided," stated the spokesperson for the insurance company, Jiří Cívka. The insurance company does not want to comment on any further plans for the property; the spokesperson only mentioned that further actions are being considered and a definitive decision has not yet been made.
    The original decision to declare the villa a monument was made by the ministry in October 2007. However, the insurance company opposed it. The then Minister of Culture Václav Jehlička confirmed the verdict in February 2008. However, Generali challenged the ruling in court, which annulled the decision of the Minister of Culture in June 2009 due to procedural errors.
    Generali's management initially planned to demolish the villa but later decided to surround the historical building with a new customer center for approximately 200 million crowns. Villa Anička is one of the architectural symbols of the city. In 2007, the city council expressed consent to its demolition. At the same time, public resistance against the demolition arose in the city. A protest petition was signed by about 12,000 people.