Ambiguous ownership limits development

As a decision on the state-church property settlement remains stalled in Parliament, many towns across the country are losing out on investment, subsidies and development, municipal groups say.

According to Iva Vejmelková, head lawyer for the office of the Union of Towns and Municipalities in the Czech Republic, nearly 60 town officials have voiced their concerns to her office about their inability to build on properties whose ownership is still in dispute. According to the Czech News Agency (ČTK), more than 500 towns are currently affected, the most crucial being Slivenec on the outskirts of Prague, Sedlec-Prčice in central Bohemia and the spa town of Lázně Bělohrad in east Bohemia.

"Villages and towns are limited in their development, and because of the ambiguous ownership of some property, they cannot dispose with the property," Vejmelková said. "They are not able to build anything on this blocked property, and they cannot invest the money on required infrastructure like roads and sewage systems. I don't know exactly why these specific towns are the most affected, but maybe the churches owned a large amount of property in these towns because they had a stronger role there in the past."

The first word of a restitution proposal to return church property seized after the communist takeover in 1948 came in May but has been tangled in a web of disputes among government officials, members of Parliament and religious leaders. The current proposal, which outlines the state is to pay 59 billion Kč over 30 years and return 56 percent of the property that was seized, is to be discussed by the government of Prime Minister Petr Nečas sometime in December before going to Parliament, according to Vejmelková.

The main opposition to the restitution law has been the Social Democratic (ČSSD) and Communist (KSČM) parties, but Vejmelková said she is sure Nečas supports the proposed law.

"They [the ČSSD and the KSČM] may be afraid of the financial situation in Europe and the Czech Republic because this is a large amount of money, and they are afraid the state doesn't have much money to spare," he said.

Tomáš Holub, secretary-general of the Czech Bishops' conference, said this settlement means more than a return of property and money, and all the members of the conference are anticipating a positive outcome.

"This is not only the settlement of property relations between the state and churches, but it is also an easing of injustices against churches and religious communities at the time of a totalitarian regime," he said. "It is very good that the negotiations are between the state on one side and churches, religious organizations and the federation of Jewish communities on the other, that we were able to reach a consensus, which is unparalleled in the world."

According to estimates, during the 41 years of communist rule, a total of 181,000 hectares of forests and 72,000 hectares of farm land were confiscated from churches. Separately, the state currently pays about 1.4 billion Kč in subsidies to churches each year. Under the government's proposal, the state subsidies would be phased out as restitution payments begin.

The churches are hoping this new law will finally settle the argument that the church should not receive state subsidies, and, according to Holub, the church can finally start to focus on its own long-term financial management.

Town officials are hoping the new proposal will pass smoothly as well, so they can start on development and apply for both state and EU subsidies, Vejmelková said. Since the clarity of ownership of many of these properties has been uncertain for more than 40 years, the towns and municipalities haven't been able to ask for any sort of support or grants from the EU, she added.

Once it passes, however, "it may take months or years before the towns can be successfully developed," Vejmelková said.

"Some towns have signed some letters of intent between municipalities and churches, so the development could be quicker in these areas."

- Filip Šenk contributed to this report.

Megan Battista can be reached at
features@praguepost.com