Amendments to the Building Act threaten monuments, experts wrote to Babiš

Prague - Representatives of the academic community warned in an open letter to Prime Minister Andrej Babiš (ANO) about the impacts of amendments to the building law on heritage preservation. According to them, the wording of the regulation, which lawmakers are set to discuss this week, weakens heritage preservation and poses a threat even in an international context. The letter from 15 experts, which includes seven objections, including criticism of the abolition of protective zones, is available to ČTK. ČTK is seeking a response from the Prime Minister.

The amendments to the law, which Babiš's government approved at its first meeting on December 16 last year, according to the letter, mechanically abolish protective zones of heritage reserves and zones. This includes monuments listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, such as Prague, Kutná Hora, and Český Krumlov.

The zones protect harmonious architectural units, traditional panoramas, distant views, and the image of historical settlements. "The adoption of the proposals in their presented form would mean a drastic reduction in the level of protection for these values,” states the letter.

Its signatories hold leading and highest positions at various universities. Among them is the Dean of the Faculty of Architecture at the Czech Technical University Dalibor Hlaváček, the Rector of the Prague Academy of Art, Architecture and Design Tomáš Pospiszyl, the Rector of the AAAD in Prague Jindřich Vybíral, the Director of the Institute for Art History at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University Marie Rakušanová and her deputy Richard Biegel, the head of the Institute of Christian Art History at the Catholic Theological Faculty of Prague Vít Vlnas, the Director of the Institute of Art History at the Czech Academy of Sciences Tomáš Winter, and the Chairwoman of the Art History Society in the Czech Lands Anna Pravdová.

Among the recipients are, in addition to Babiš, also Deputy Prime Minister Karel Havlíček (ANO), Minister of Culture Oto Klempíř (Motorists), Minister for Regional Development Zuzana Mrázová (ANO), and the Chair of the parliamentary media committee František Talíř (KDU-ČSL). Mrázová previously stated that amendments to the building law would trigger changes in other laws, including heritage protection law.

The letter also criticizes the abolition of binding opinions on interventions in buildings in heritage zones and the transfer of decision-making authority directly to the building authority. According to the letter, heritage experts would only be able to comment on new building projects at the earliest stage.

"The proposed amendment overall weakens the protection of the public interest in the protection of monuments, which the heritage law is meant to safeguard,” the letter states. It characterized the new option, according to which builders could consult their project with another expert in the field of architecture or heritage preservation in addition to the National Heritage Institute, as unsystematic.

The signatories of the letter to the Prime Minister wrote that they understand the effort to simplify and improve the building approval process, but the adoption of the amendment in its current form would have significant negative impacts on the fate of monuments in the Czech Republic, including UNESCO-protected sites. "We remind you that the Czech Republic was elected in November 2025 to the World Heritage Committee, and its prestige and credibility in the field of heritage preservation would be significantly harmed by the adoption of problematic proposals,” they added.

According to today's report by the organization Arnika, the adoption of the building law amendment would significantly weaken the protection of monuments, nature, and the right to defend against illegal buildings. It noted that the amendment did not go through the standard commenting process.