In Ralsko, the demolition of the former Soviet army headquarters will begin

Ralsko - The demolition of the former headquarters of the Soviet army in the former military area of Ralsko in the Česká Lípa region will begin next week. Three buildings will be taken down, said the spokesperson for the Liberec region, Markéta Žitná, to ČTK.

"On Monday, machinery will arrive and the construction site will be prepared. The actual demolition should start on Wednesday or Thursday," Žitná stated.

The buildings are in an area managed by the Regional Road Administration of the Liberec Region. Its director, Jan Růžička, anticipates that the demolition work will be completed this year. After winter, the area where the buildings were demolished will only be landscaped with grass. "It wouldn't make sense to plant trees there; concrete areas will remain around," he added.

The former military area of Ralsko, covering 250 square kilometers, was used by the Soviet army until the early 1990s. The Liberec region took over part of the area from the state in 2007. The demolition of the buildings will cost the region, including VAT, 3.3 million crowns.

The region began demolishing unused and dilapidated buildings last year, when the ruined cultural house of the Soviet army was taken down. "Currently, there are still 177 buildings there, some are standing and in a state of emergency, while others have already collapsed," said Jan Čáp, the head of the regional transportation department, recently. In the first phase, the region plans to demolish 20 buildings that are closest to the inhabited part of Ralsko. In the next year, the region plans in the budget proposal to allocate 16.5 million crowns for demolitions.