The prison building is a historical site that has not been used since 1962. The present owner of the deserted object is the Ministry of Justice which took over the object in the year 1994. After the failure of its revitalization plans it has lost its interest in the decrepit object. The prison remains the only site of the historical royal town that has not undergone reconstruction… In addition, the Uherske Hradiste prison is on the brink of complete devastation and devaluation of its historical character.
The object that was built in the late 19th century. Especially during World War II and in the post-war period it became a place with a sad history. In the course of Protectorate, Czech patriots suffered here, and in the 1950s a number of people were imprisoned, tortured and executed here for political reasons. The Magistrate of Uherske Hradiste has been seeking for years to take the prison into its full ownership to change it into a museum commemorating the crimes of totalitarian regimes. Negotiations with the Ministry of Justice have so far been fruitless while the object of the prison is getting increasingly decrepit. The Ministry´s financial demands relating to the transfer into the town´s ownership are exorbitant and the object is in danger of further devastation and misuse for the Ministry considers holding an auction to dispose of the prison building. In case of this happening, the building with such sad history and of such a historical value might be then used for any purposes. Not only is a commercial sale risky, it cannot even guarantee that a place where a lot of innocent people suffered and died will be held in reverence.
The Initiative for the respectable utilization of the prison in Uherske Hradiste found inspiration in the revitalization of a similar object in a northern Rumanian town of Sighet. Under the support from the state and European institutions, a former prison was turned into a museum serving today as a major exposition and a study center commemorating the times of totality. Why not establish a comparable, museum-, education- and culture-oriented institution also in Uhereske Hradiste? The location of the object in the centre, its architectural compactness and its strong zeitgeist call for this. The Initiative representatives demand that competent authorities and persons continue in negotiations which should result in the respectable utilization of the prison building in Uherske Hradiste.
The first move of the Initiative is the issuing of a proclamation and promoting the petition for the salvation of this historical site. The second is the foundation of a civic association to watch the reconstruction of the object and make comments on its subsequent use.
Initiative spokesmen:
Anna Stránská (Uh. Hradiste), e-mail: as@uh.cz, mobil: 00420 724 367 728
Petr Slinták, Mgr. (Praha — Prague), e-mail: petrslintak@centrum.cz, mobil: 00420 776 687 800
Mgr. Petr Slinták
Redakce: MK
Please, right click and chose "Save As" for download...