Prague Heritage Reserve (PPR) is a protected area in the historic core of Prague. According to the National Heritage Institute, it covers 894.94 hectares and is the largest urban heritage reserve in the Czech Republic and one of the largest in the world.[1] The reserve was declared in 1971.[2]
UNESCO World Heritage
On 14 December 1992 the reserve was inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List under the name Historic Centre of Prague. The inscription was approved by the World Heritage Committee at its session in Santa Fe in the US state of New Mexico.[3] The World Heritage property consists of two components, the Historic Centre of Prague and the Průhonice Park. The historic centre is inscribed within the boundaries of the Prague heritage reserve and of the national cultural monument Průhonice Chateau and Park, covering 211.42 hectares.[1]
Heritage protection in Prague
The reserve is the core of the capital's heritage stock. Other area-protected territories are two village heritage reserves (Stodůlky and Ruzyně), seven village heritage zones and eleven urban heritage zones, which protect, for example, the buildings of Karlín, Vinohrady, Žižkov or Smíchov. A buffer zone of the Prague heritage reserve is defined around the protected areas.[1] A significant part of Prague 2, including parts of New Town and Vyšehrad, lies within the reserve.[2]
Assessment of its condition
In January 2023, on the anniversary of the inscription, the National Heritage Institute stated that since the 1990s the historic core had been spared larger demolitions and that its structure had mostly been preserved. It named as threats the disruption of skylines by tall buildings, increasing building density, the infilling of courtyards, changes to the roofscape and traffic load. A UNESCO monitoring mission recommended in 2010 that the parking-space requirements in building regulations be lowered. According to the institute, this later happened, yet several thousand more spaces were added in the centre over thirty years.[3]