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Case study: The Battle for Jezeří Chateau: Difference between revisions
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==Introduction== | ==Introduction== | ||
For Jezeří Chateau, perched dramatically on the foothills of the Ore Mountains in North-West Bohemia, its struggle for survival has been an enduring one over the centuries and reached its most critical moments in the latter half of the 20th century long after pan-European wars were consigned to history. From its role as a troop base in the Hussite Wars, the various radical reconstructions it underwent, its numerous changes of ownership, and its use and misuse by German troops during the Second World War, Jezeří Chateau still faced almost inevitable ruin through deliberate neglect from the 1950s onward when the communist regime became transfixed by extracting as much of the surrounding coal deposits as possible, even at the expense of demolishing the chateau itself. Even now, after a successful fight to preserve the building, the threat of demise looms over the chateau once again as | For Jezeří Chateau, perched dramatically on the foothills of the Ore Mountains in North-West Bohemia, its struggle for survival has been an enduring one over the centuries and reached its most critical moments in the latter half of the 20th century long after pan-European wars were consigned to history. From its role as a troop base in the Hussite Wars, the various radical reconstructions it underwent, its numerous changes of ownership, and its use and misuse by German troops during the Second World War, Jezeří Chateau still faced almost inevitable ruin through deliberate neglect from the 1950s onward when the communist regime became transfixed by extracting as much of the surrounding coal deposits as possible, even at the expense of demolishing the chateau itself. Even now, after a successful fight to preserve the building, the threat of demise looms over the chateau once again as various interest groups lobby to lift the territorial mining limits imposed in the early 1990s.[[File:Jezeri jezero.jpg|thumb|Jezeří Chateau in 1882]] | ||
==The early history of the chateau== | ==The early history of the chateau== | ||
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Other important energy policy stakeholders are also in favour of breaching the mining limits. The head of the Energy Regulatory Office, Alena Vitásková, for example, supports mining past the current limits in order to lower energy prices for consumers. "If the coal limits are breached, heating from coal will be the cheapest for customers, that’s obvious. I’m in favour of breaching the limits – that way we’ll get an energy source cheaper than gas and renewable sources.”<ref>"ERU head Vitásková: I’m for breaching the coal mining limits." Hospodařský noviny, 4 August 2011. [http://m.ihned.cz/c1-52481830-sefka-eru-vitaskova-jsem-pro-prolomeni-limitu-tezby-uhli]</ref> | Other important energy policy stakeholders are also in favour of breaching the mining limits. The head of the Energy Regulatory Office, Alena Vitásková, for example, supports mining past the current limits in order to lower energy prices for consumers. "If the coal limits are breached, heating from coal will be the cheapest for customers, that’s obvious. I’m in favour of breaching the limits – that way we’ll get an energy source cheaper than gas and renewable sources.”<ref>"ERU head Vitásková: I’m for breaching the coal mining limits." Hospodařský noviny, 4 August 2011. [http://m.ihned.cz/c1-52481830-sefka-eru-vitaskova-jsem-pro-prolomeni-limitu-tezby-uhli]</ref> | ||
Support nowadays for maintaining the limits and opposing expanded mining operations is led by a coalition of national NGOs, local civic associations and elected municipal officials from the towns most at threat from the lifting of the limits, e.g. Horní Jiřetín and Litvínov. | |||
The most prominent opponent to expanded mining from among local municipal politicians is Vladimír Buřt, deputy mayor of Horní Jiřetín, who has been a member of the local council there since 2003. Buřt won a seat on the Ustí regional council as a member of the Green Party on the Hnutí PRO kraj ticket in the 2012 regional elections. He also has a very personal interest in protecting Jezeří Chateau - he resides in the chateau buildings with his partner, the chateau castellan. | |||
He was the recipient of the 2009 Josef Vavroušek Prize<ref>The Josef Vavroušek Prize is named after a former well-known ecologist and is awarded for the active promotion of sustainable living, working towards positive solutions to interconnected ecological, social, economic and other issues, or for exceptional acts or activities in the field of environmental protection and sustainable development.</ref> for his persistent defence of local communities against the private interests of mining companies. Buřt was also awarded the Ivan Dejmal Prize in 2011 for an outstanding positive achievement associated with the landscape by the Society for Landscape.<ref>ČeskáPozice.cz, 6 October 2011. "The second Ivan Dejmal laureate will be Horní Jiřetín deputy mayor Vladimír Buřt"[http://www.ceskapozice.cz/domov/ekologie/druhym-laureatem-ceny-ivana-dejmala-bude-mistostarosta-horniho-jiretina-vladimir-burt] (Czech)</ref> | |||
Buřt has stated his conviction that in relation to Horní Jiřetín, there is little coal remaining following termination of coal mining operations in town’s cadastre in the late 1980s that made extensive use of deep mining technology, and therefore Horní Jiřetín represents more of a blockage to mining further afield rather than as a site resting on large coal reserves. “A large part of Jiřetín is built on the slopes of the Ore Mountains. If the miners wanted to get the rest of the coal directly under Jiřetín, they’d not only have to mine the built-up area, but also much of the slopes of the Ore Mountains. They'd have to remove the beech forests and hillsides up to another one hundred metres above the town. That in itself is incredible barbarity, and it’s nonsense of course from an economic point of view.”<ref>Deník.cz, 22.2.2010. “Vladimír Buřt: Horní Jiřetín will certainly remain”.[http://mostecky.denik.cz/zpravy_region/vladimir-burt-horni-jiretin-tu-urcite-zustane.html](Czech)</ref> | |||
Buřt belives Jezeří itself may be threatened by fissures on the surrounding hills and new landslides allegedly caused by the mining. As the mining gnaws away at the surrounding hillsides there is the threat of a landslide into the valley. Jezeří has until now been supported and protected by its surrounding park, but visible crevices in the land have increasingly threatened its stability. The miners, however, claim that they are monitoring the area around the Czechoslovak Army open cast mine and any fears are unnecessary. | |||
But according to Buřt, the machines are eating into the hills more and more and disrupting the stability of the land: "I'm watching regularly with great concern; it can happen anytime." <ref>Český rozhlas, 7.12.2010, "Jezeří again threatened by fissures". [http://www.rozhlas.cz/zpravy/politika/_zprava/820263]</ref> | |||
There is only one access road to the chateau which more than 20,000 visitors used in 2010, which was about 50% more people than the previous year.<ref>Český rozhlas, 7.12.2010, "Jezeří again threatened by fissures". [http://www.rozhlas.cz/zpravy/politika/_zprava/820263]</ref> Paradoxically, visitors cannot tear their eyes away from the massive mining operations below the chateau as well. Should the mining limits be abrogated, then not only would the adjacent settlements disappear and the chateau foundations destabilised, but the chateau access road would be removed. | |||
Czech Coal, however, has said that should the mining ever continue beyond the current limits, a new road to the chateau and to the settlements in the Ore Mountains that depend on access via Horní Jiřetín would be built, or the old disused E13 road from Chomutov would be restored.<ref>Český rozhlas, 7.12.2010, "Jezeří again threatened by fissures". [http://www.rozhlas.cz/zpravy/politika/_zprava/820263]</ref> | |||
In early 2011, a large landslide occurred on the edge of the Czechoslovak Army Mine below Jezeří that Czech Coal wanted to backfill and landscape at a cost of CZK 100 mil., for which the company used financial reserves earmarked for recultivation projects.<ref>Lidový noviny, 5 February 2011, "Fractured slopes under Jezeří Chateau to cost 100 million". [http://www.koreny.cz/news/utrzeny-svah-pod-zamkem-jezeri-vyjde-na-100-milionu/]</ref> Czech Coal stated at the time that “in view of the lack of the lack of soil in connection with the territorial ecological limits it is necessary to ensure the long-term stability of the slopes partially through mining methods i.e. backfilling, in combination with structural landscaping.” | |||
Buřt accused the mining company of defending its irresponsibility by blaming Jiřetín and the limits, adding that the company was essentially admitting that it know about the possible risks. Continuing mining along the foothills would simply escalate the problem, not resolve it, said Buřt. | |||
Buřt said that landslides into the mining pit occurred every year, but the one in early 2011 was one of the biggest. The regional organisation of the Green Party said the miners did not respect the laws of nature in the area. Thirty years previously it had been decided that mining would be diverted to a safer distance from the Ore Mountain foothills with the remaining land under the chateau park being preserved as a stabilising pillar. The Green Party representatives believed the landslide had disturbed the pillar. | |||
But Czech Coal did not agree with the ecologists even after the slide. Its spokespeople referred to their views as “non-expert discussions and speculation”. The company rejected “professionally unfounded” claims about the threat to the Ore Mountains, Jezeří chateau, nearby settlements and neighbouring towns further from the mine. “Discussions about the stability of the slopes and the influence of the mining should be held at a professional level and not in the form of speculation”, said Czech Coal spokesperson Gabriela Benešová.<ref>Lidový noviny, 5 February 2011, "Fractured slopes under Jezeří Chateau to cost 100 million". [http://www.koreny.cz/news/utrzeny-svah-pod-zamkem-jezeri-vyjde-na-100-milionu/]</ref> | |||
===Immediate threat of expanded mining reduced=== | |||
Supporters of expanded brown coal mining beyond the existing limits took a major blow on 26 September 2012 when parliament agreed an amendment to the Mining Act which removed the right to expropriate private property for mining purposes. The amendment was criticised by the opposition parties in parliament: parliamentary Economic Committee chairman, Milan Urban, said the amendment could cause such large damage that it could be viewed in future as high treason, while Communist Party MP Kateřina Konečná said it could “wreck the state’s economic policy”.<ref>"Deputies remove the possibility of expropriation for mining." Aktuálně.cz, 26 September 2012. [http://aktualne.centrum.cz/domaci/zivot-v-cesku/clanek.phtml?id=758656]</ref> | |||
President Vaclav Klaus provided some hope to the amendment’s critics when he exercised his right to veto the law change. Klaus justified his veto by saying the amendment would deprive the country of an important energy policy tool and would facilitate land speculation. “The law abolishes the institution of expropriation. Unlike the current version of the Mining Act, it provides for a very risky and problematic conflict between landowners and the owner of this mineral wealth, which is the state,” said Klaus as part of his rationale. “One can expect that the land underneath which are deposits owned by the state and which in exceptional cases it will not be possible to expropriate , will be purchased for speculative reasons with an eye to recovering a large amount of compensation from the state.” <ref>’Klaus vetoes Mining Act. Expropriation ban would play into hands of speculators’, Lidový noviny, 19 November 2012 [http://www.lidovky.cz/klaus-vetoval-horni-zakon-ktery-rusi-moznost-vyvlastnovani-ptc-/zpravy-domov.aspx?c=A121119_160112_ln_domov_ape]</ref> | |||
Parliament, however, overturned Klaus’s veto and reconfirmed its original amendment to the Mining Act removing the expropriation clause. The amendment was supported by 120 MPs, including the government coalition, six opposition Social Democrats, all Věci veřejné (English: Public Affairs) MPs and two independent MPs. <ref>’The end of expropriation for mining. MPs overturn Klaus’s veto’, Lidový noviny, 19 November 2012 [http://www.lidovky.cz/snemovna-prehlasovala-klause-a-zrusila-vyvlastnovani-kvuli-tezbe-1d4-/zpravy-domov.aspx?c=A121219_115704_ln_domov_pef]</ref> | |||
===Pro-mining candidate wins Czech presidential eletions=== | |||
In January 2013, the Czechs elected Miloš Zeman, the former Social Democrat prime minister (1998-2002), as their new president in the first ever direction presidential election. Prior to the election, Zeman categorically stated that he was in favour of not only breaching the mining limits but expediting the whole process because it would help lower high unemployment in the region and the people of Horní Jiřetín would receive "decent" compensation for their property. "You can't let coal reserves lie dormant for 50 years ahead when our power stations would otherwise have to be shut down, or expensive coal would have to be imported from abroad," said Zeman.<ref>Česká televize, 21 February 2010. 'Miloš Zeman for breaching mining limits' [http://www.ceskatelevize.cz/ct24/ekonomika/81726-ovm-milos-zeman-pro-prolomeni-tezebnich-limitu/]</ref> | |||
Curiously, despite such statements, the residents of Horní Jiřetín voted 60-40<ref> Presidential elections results, Czech Statistical Office [http://www.volby.cz/pls/prez2013/pe311?xjazyk=CZ&xnumnuts=4205&xobec=567175]</ref> for Zeman over his opponent Karel Schwarzenberg, who was known to have 'green' sympathies. A possible explanation lies in the fact that Schwarzenberg had made statements during the presidential campaign that called into question the immediate post-war Beneš Decrees which laid the basis for the expulsion of approximately three million Germans from Czechoslovakia. As Horní Jiřetín lies on the Czech-German border in what was formerly the German Sudetenland, it is likely that the local population viewed Schwarzenberg's alleged 'pro-Sudeten' statements more negatively than Zeman's pro-mining statements. | |||
==Resources== | ==Resources== | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
{{License cc|Jan Marek, Andrew Barton}} | |||
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[[Category:Ore Mountains case study]] | |||