From near-collapse to community hub: Czech volunteers rescue historic house

Bought at auction for approximately CZK 135,000 when it was in danger of collapse, a historic timber-framed house in Kraslice is now hosting concerts, welcoming hikers and bringing neighbors together.

The transformation took more than 16 years, around CZK 4 million and hundreds of hours of volunteer work. This week, it earned the Friends of Kraslice association a monument rescue award in the National Heritage Institute’s Patrimonium pro futuro competition.

The project was one of two winners from the Karlovy Vary region. Ostrov received the institute director general’s award for restoring its richly decorated 1950s House of Culture, a building whose history also encompasses forced labor in the region’s uranium industry.

For Otakar Mika, a member of the association behind the Kraslice restoration, the most important achievement is that people are using the building again.

Part of the property has received approval for public use in the past three years, allowing lectures, concerts and other cultural events. It also serves hikers on the Czech Trail through the volunteer Trail Angels network.

“After so many years, this monument has a use,” Mika told ČTK. Visitors can meet there and learn about the history of Kraslice and the Ore Mountains, he said.

The property comprises historic buildings numbered 217 and 218 on 5. května Street, which ČTK dates to 1737. Around 15 years ago, they were in a critical state and threatened with collapse.

After the indebted private owner’s property went to auction, the association acquired it in 2010 with financial help from the town.

Restoration funding came from grants, foundations, donations and support from municipal, regional and national authorities.

According to the National Heritage Institute, work included repairing the timber structure, stabilizing the building, restoring its facade and refurbishing historic doors and selected windows. Traditional techniques helped preserve its architectural character.

Mika said residents increasingly regarded the building as their own: a shared place whose survival they could help secure.

The second regional award recognized a different kind of preservation in Ostrov.

Its House of Culture opened on May 1, 1955, as a centerpiece of a new housing district associated with the Jáchymov mining enterprise. Prisoners from uranium labor camps participated in its construction and decoration, according to the heritage institute.

Restoration began in autumn 2024 and finished last year, costing more than CZK 131 million.

Specialists restored stucco decoration, paintings on glass, murals, veneered woodwork and distinctive glass chandeliers from Kamenický Šenov. Original colors and gilding were recovered, while hundreds of lighting elements were refurbished.

Modern additions include sound and stage equipment, a recording studio and a digital cinema, allowing the building to continue functioning as a cultural venue.

Both awards were presented Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Prague’s Hybernia Theatre. The competition received 36 nominations, with an expert jury selecting 22 finalists across five main categories.

In Kraslice, the recognition rewards a rescue that has already changed daily life around the building. The association’s long restoration has given residents somewhere to gather—and a surviving piece of their town’s history to share.