Earlier this month the Culture Ministry stripped the Praha Bubny train station of its landmark status.
Although the National Landmark Institute as well as the landmark department of Prague City Hall both recommended that the station lose its status, a number of preservationists are speaking out against the decision, which was made following the request of developer Orco Property Group.
Orco bought the property last year for CZK 1.1 from the state-owned Railway Infrastructure Administration and is planning a massive EUR 3 billion project on the site that will include hundreds of shops, high-end apartments and offices. It will be the biggest development in Prague.
There is not much standing in the way now of Orco tearing down the station’s historical buildings. Other parts of the property, which include a water tower, still retain their protective status and might be saved.
All this may sound familiar. Just several weeks ago, Prague City Hall announced its intention to convert the historical train station Masarykovo nádraží into a shopping mall. Although the main building, which today houses the ticket hall and train platforms, might be saved, its interior will most likely be gutted and replaced with shops and offices.
It might be worth asking whether there is a point to preserving just the shell of the historical building – just look at the Palladium shopping centre on náměstí Republiky, another eggshell of a historical structure which bears little resemblance to its original form since its reconstruction.
In light of the planned Masarykovo nádraží project, it seems just as well that most of Bubny lost its protection. Any lip service to Bubny’s landmark status would most likely mean just another eggshell treatment. Prague can do without a third Palladium.
According to the Culture Ministry, around 80 property owners a year file requests to have their property stripped of landmark status in order to be able to launch development. About half of those requests succeed. Of the 40,000 registered landmarks, some 3,000 are technical landmarks, like the industrial buildings of the Bubny station. The ministry says an increasing number of industrial buildings have been given protected status in the last decade.