It's a natural meeting point and the heart of the city but many Prague natives refuse to go there. It was the backdrop for key moments in this country's history that has become a favorite haunt of pickpockets, prostitutes and drug dealers.

Sleazy, crime ridden and congested, Wenceslas Square has problems that politicians and the public agree must be fixed.

City authorities launched a competition Aug. 1 inviting architects to suggest how the square should be remodeled. The winning proposal is to be named in November.

Vladimír Vihan, mayor of Prague 1, hopes the facelift will be completed by 2011 but admits it may take longer.

The reconstruction will cost several billion crowns but Prague 1 town hall says it does not yet know the final sum because it depends on the extent of renovation architects propose.

Vihan wants restrictions on parking, fewer market stalls, broader sidewalks and more trees as part of a cleaner, greener square that will attract more families and less crime.

Will it work? The Prague Post asked a businesswoman, an artist, an environmentalist and a former mayor who is also an architect for their opinions and their visions of the square's future.

Marta Guthová, 33, is a businesswoman and board member of property development company Flow East, which owns three buildings on Wenceslas Square.

She wants basketball and volleyball games to be held in the square and would like to see an ice-skating rink at Christmas: "something that attracts people to the center of Prague, because a lot of people have started to disappear. ... They are going to shopping centers outside [of the center] where they have comfortable parking and everything is under one roof."

"We are talking about a square that was part of Czech history for quite a long time," continues Guthová, founder of the Association of the New City of Prague, a lobby group.

"Every time something important happened, people came to the square and tried to voice their opinion, especially on the political situation. [They came] when they were sad, when they were happy. I just find it really upsetting that this place is now full of drugs, pickpockets, drunk and screaming stag groups, homeless people, smelly sausages, prostitutes and pimps."

Guthová says there has been a big increase in brothels and strip clubs, and there are now 14 of them in or near the square, which in 1989 witnessed demonstrations that led to the fall of communism.

She is also unhappy with the presence of a drop-in center that helps drug addicts. "We understand why they are doing it, but it's just not good to have it in front of the statue of St. Wenceslas."

Michael Bielicky´, 51, a professor and head of the new media department at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, says Wenceslas Square makes him depressed so he tries to avoid it.

"It definitely has a negative vibration. ... Nothing is authentic there," says Bielicky´, an artist who uses new technology, including computers, video and the Internet, in his work.

One reason for his dejection is the "ugly kitsch" on offer to tourists: "Glass, souvenirs, sunglasses; it's all very cheap, very profit-oriented. Most of the stuff is not even made in the Czech Republic."

However, Bielicky´ says he doesn't see an easy solution because in a free market you can't dictate what kind of products shops should sell.

He is also annoyed by the sculptures currently on display in the square, which he describes as "culture pollution," although he acknowledges that some of the pieces are popular with visitors.

"This is so bad; this is so ugly; this is nothing to do with contemporary art," he says.

"This is something you could see 20, 30 years ago in other big cities. Why copy this and why not to give a chance to a more, let's say, experimental, innovative, fresh artistic approach?"

Bielicky´ says that with its spectacular architecture the square has potential to be a more positive place. "I would definitely try to make the buildings, which have really wonderful design and wonderful architecture, as free as possible from any advertising."

StEpán BoháC of the environmental group Ozivení says the biggest problem with Wenceslas Square is that it is not "a place for people. It's a great parking space. When I hear my parents speak, for them it was natural when they were in high school to meet with friends on Wenceslas Square."

But today, the square is not a place where he wants to be. He adds that it's badly served by public transit.

"One of the most important changes would be to reintroduce trams, the best [solution] would be all along Wenceslas Square." He believes such a step could also help deter criminal activity.

"Crime looks for calm, hidden places, for dark areas. If you have trams there all night, if you have more light, if you have a friendlier space, it will help partly to reduce crime."

Bohác acknowledges that making the square a pedestrian-only zone would merely force traffic onto surrounding streets and solve one problem by creating another one.

Some politicians want to delay restoring trams to the square until a highway ring road is completed, or until City Hall realizes plans to close the part of the magistrála arterial road that runs in front of the National Museum at the top of the square, and to build a tunnel for the road behind the museum.

But Bohác says waiting would be a mistake. "It's necessary to act now, not to wait for definitive solutions to other [traffic] problems of the town."

Jan Kasl is a former mayor of Prague and an architect, but he won't be entering the competition to come up with the best design for improving Wenceslas Square.

As a member of the municipal assembly who sits on the City Hall planning committee, he doesn't want to be accused of a conflict of interest.

Kasl wants more police stationed in the square to deter crime, and adds that both state police and Prague's local municipal police have not been active enough.

He says the square badly needs an underground car park. "Parking should not be on the surface because the space is too precious."

Previously, Kasl supported bringing in trams to the square in order to improve its accessibility, particularly for elderly or handicapped people.