It would be an unfavourable purchase, Prague councillors agreed in the case of the Jindřiška Tower, for which the Prague Archbishopric is demanding CZK 100 million (€4 million). This is twice as much as an expert's opinion, according to newstream.cz which commented on the original CTK report.
The capital will not buy the medieval Jindřiška Tower from the Prague archbishopric, Prague City Councillor Adam Zábranský said. The reasons for this are the high price the church wants for the building, the need for costly repairs and the long lease agreement, which the current tenant has until 2044. According to Zábranský, the entire Prague coalition, i.e. elected representatives from the political grouping Spolu (the political parties ODS, TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL), Piráti and STAN, agreed to reject the purchase.
The archbishopric is demanding CZK 100 million (€4 million) for the building, which the councillor said is about twice as much as the expert opinion, according to the ČTK. The archbishopric offered the Jindřiška Tower in the city centre for sale late last year because, according to the archbishop, it has no significance for the faithful and is primarily a tourist monument. It also wants to sell the Clara Futura hotel in Dolní Břežany for CZK 308 million (€12.5 million). The money the archbishopric would receive from the sale would go to the church's education system.
According to an earlier statement by the archbishopric, the tower requires repairs worth up to CZK 30 million (€1.2 million). Councillors will now instruct officials to draw up a document containing a resolution stating that the city is not interested in buying it. The document will then be discussed by Prague councillors. They will communicate their decision to the archbishopric. The sale of the tower is part of a streamlining of the church's management in view of the time when it will no longer receive a contribution from the state for its activities. The archbishopric originally offered the tower for sale for CZK 75 million (€3.042 million), but later increased the price.
The Jindřiška Tower on the border of the street of the same name and Senovážné Square in Prague 1 was originally the bell tower of the neighbouring church of St. Henry and St. Kunhuta. It is part of the Prague Monument Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The late Gothic tower was built between 1472 and 1476.
