Stalin has been condemned, and Prague's Metronome area will be closed to the public

Prague must immediately close part of the pedestal of the former Stalin Memorial at Letná, based on the results of a report commissioned by the Municipal Property Department. The entire area above the pedestal must close within five days unless the roof below is reinforced.

“The construction is in a state of disrepair where there is a risk of an uncontrollable sudden collapse of its overloaded and corrosion-weakened parts,” the Prague 7 Building Authority stated, adding that was calling on the city “to immediately and prevent people and animals from entering the building.”

The section below the metronome, where there are now stalls and cultural events, will be closed immediately, The space above the bunker, the place where the Metronome is located, must be secured within five days from Wednesday, September 18, or it will also be closed.

The area by the
Metronome has long been popular with skateboarders and people wanting
to sit on the wall and look at the view of the city.

The base has been
used for art exhibitions and light shows, and has been home to a bar
called Stalin.

By the end of the
year, Prague must submit a report from structural engineers and carry
out laboratory tests.

The expert opinion,
on the basis of which the Prague 7 Building Authority decided, was
commissioned by the Prague City Councilor Jan Chabr (United Force for
Prague). There was already a written report about the emergency state
of the building.

Provisionally, it
will be necessary to temporarily support the roof, but until that
happens people will not be able to enter the space.

The bad condition is
caused by long-term leaks. The report also states that the estimate
of the cost of provisional support for the ceiling of the underground
construction is 7 million CZK.

“Now it is
necessary to provide emergency repairs, temporary support, and make a
final assessment that will include a load test of concrete quality,”
Chabr said, accodring to news server Novinky.cz.

He wants to decide on further steps only on the basis of an opinion. “If it is possible economically and advantageously to redevelop the building to allow future use, I am in favor,” Chabr said

The cultural program
at the statue base and the related bar called Stalin is operated by
Containall, which also operates similar projects in other parts of
the city.

The area is
popularly called Stalin, after a statue of the Soviet leader that
stood on top from 1955 to 1962. After 1962, when the Stalin statue
was destroyed, the communist government planned to build another
large monument there, but never did so.

Stalin did make a
comeback, however, in May 2016 when a scaled-down Styrofoam replica
of the monument was placed there for a TV movie called Monstrum.

The Metronome was built in 1991 by Vratislav Novák. At 23 meters tall, it is visible from Old Town Square and much of the city center.