Prague, March 6 (CTK) – New, more spacious and partially glassed shelters for security checks at all entrances to Prague Castle, the presidential seat, are supposed to be built in several weeks, Presidential Office head Vratislav Mynar told CTK yesterday.
Police security checks of all visitors to Prague Castle were introduced last summer, which stirred up strong criticism. The check points were gradually equipped with modern technology, including door frame metal detectors and a camera-monitoring system, and wooden booths were added last autumn.
They should protect the visitors who undergo security checks from rain, for instance, Jiri Ovcacek, spokesman for President Milos Zeman, said after the checks were launched. However, the small booths covered only some of the police, while others were screening visitors under the open skies.
Mynar said the new shelters would provide a better comfort for visitors in the case of adverse weather as they would protect more people. They will be wooden as the old booths, he added.
“We do not want anything monstrous, we want a light wooden structure partially with a glass panelling,” Mynar said.
The final appearance of the shelters, including their electrical connections, will result from an agreement with heritage protectors, Mynar said.
He put the costs at dozens of thousands of crowns apiece.
“This will be a simple structure that will not be firmly anchored to the ground,” he said.
The technical equipment of the check points will not be changed for now. However, the Prague Castle management plans its modification.
A competition for a technical designer to decide what exactly will be purchased and how to modify and complete the current security system is in the first phase, Mynar added.
Then the Prague Castle management will deal with the establishment of a central police counter and new door frame medal detectors.
($1=25.574 crowns)
