Construction of shopping mall in Ceske Budejovice disputed

Plans to build a large commercial mall in central Ceske Budejovice, South Bohemia, are disputed by local monument care organisations, says Czech daily Mlada Fronta Dnes. The shopping mall is to be built on a site occupied by an Art Deco house erected in the 1930s. The monument care institute together with the Friends of Ceske Budejovice Club have suggested the house is declared a cultural monument which would bar its demolition. The construction company now has to await the verdict of the Czech Ministry of Culture which will decide whether the historical building is worth special protection.