Czechia has slowly but surely been getting rid of its communist-era decay. Have a look at some of my favorite transformations! These always cheer me up. (part 8)
by GPwat
Czechia has slowly but surely been getting rid of its communist-era decay. Have a look at some of my favorite transformations! These always cheer me up. (part 8)
by GPwat
4 comments
Some historical background for those interested in how the buildings became ruins (because Soviet patriots always show up in comments claiming communists had nothing to do with this…)
**Pravonín**
> After the Second World War, the castle was subjected to alterations that negatively affected it. Some large rooms were divided by partitions, some windows and doors were bricked up. The National Committee, the police, the Union of Socialist Youth and the post office were housed here. However, due to lack of maintenance, the building began to leak and its statics were compromised. The castle was gradually abandoned. The post office was the last to close in the 1980s.
> Restitutionists, who acquired the ruined castle after 1990, sold it for three million crowns to an Italian company that wanted to repair it and use it for cultural purposes. But they could not secure enough funding for the project. At the turn of 2019 and 2020, the castle got a new owner. It was bought by the Kladno company Thermogas Profibau s.r.o.
https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pravon%C3%ADn_(z%C3%A1mek)
**Mohelnice fort**
> At the beginning of the post-war era the inn was confiscated and handed over to the use of the JZD (Collective farm) in Podolí. Later it was taken over by the the property of SVAZARM (socialist militia). It was not until 1966 that a registration list of this monument was established at the Monument Administration in Brno. In 1987, Drahomír Polách added further characteristics of the building and at the same time noted its drastically dilapidated condition, especially the ceilings on the first floor, and inappropriate modifications by the then owners. This was Svazarm, which had “managed” to liquidate all of the original buildings of the former estate.
https://www.kobylkovatvrz.cz/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Kobylkova-tvrz.pdf
**Jinonice**
> The Schwarzenbergs owned the chateau until 1945, after which the chateau and the farm yard were confiscated and in 1949 the Ministry of Agriculture established the ČSSS, n.p. Jinonice (State agricultural collective), and in 1989 the State Farm of the capital city, which had offices and operations there.
https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jinonice_(z%C3%A1mek)
**Kopaniny**
> „In the 18th century, the so-called New House was built, where the owners moved their living quarters and turned the original castle into stables. This new house was unfortunately demolished in the 1960s, and the Kopaniny castle was thus destroyed in people’s minds. However, research has shown that the castle actually still exists. I invited the last descendant of the Zedtwitz family who lived there as a child and was deported after the war. Unfortunately, although he occasionally stops behind the fence, he doesn’t have the strength to see what’s going on inside.“
> „We were not taking over a monument, but a pile of stones and an incredible amount of rubble. We were gradually clearing out different parts of the building so that it was safe to start salvaging what was left. Statically we secured the various parts, began to prepare the projects, and started to clean up the masonry.“
https://www.propamatky.info/cs/zpravodajstvi/karlovarsky-kraj/tema/rozhovor-%7C-s-frantiskem-hupkou-o-zachrane-zamku-kopaniny/4406/
**Ostrolovský Újezd**
> The castle was a school until 1968, later a warehouse and abandoned soon after. After 1990 it was bought by the municipality of Ostrolovský Újezd. The reconstruction of the castle was started by Mr. and Mrs. Malinský, who bought the building in 2002.
https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrolovsk%C3%BD_%C3%9Ajezd_(z%C3%A1mek)
**Ropice**
> From 1945, the castle was the site of a Czech-Polish kindergarten, which operated there until 1961. Then the castle was taken over by the state farm Hnojník and used as apartments for employees. In the 1970s an attempt was made to remove the castle from the register of monuments and convert it into flats, which was not allowed. Due to lack of maintenance, the castle fell into disrepair and was completely abandoned in 1972. Domestic animals (chickens, pigeons and a dog) were kept in the rooms on the first floor. The chateau gradually fell into disrepair and the rest of the furnishings were gradually stolen and destroyed by vandals. All the tiled stoves, baroque grilles and railings, stone paving, door frame surrounds and the bare stone portal were stolen.
https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ropice_(z%C3%A1mek)
Truly amazing!
I like to see post like that!
I appreciate that they didn’t demolish these but preserved them properly