Prague, July 9 (CTK) – Nine historical objects, works of art and church items will be added to the Czech list of national cultural heritage (NKP), the government decided at its meeting late on Wednesday, its press department has told CTK.
They include the Altar of Vyssi Brod, the Madonna of Veveri, the Palladium of Stara Boleslav and some Gothic board paintings, some of which have been claimed by the Catholic Church within the property settlement with the state.
The national cultural heritage items enjoy the highest state protection. They also include objects and properties that are in other but state ownership.
The national cultural heritage items create the most important part of the country’s cultural wealth and they are protected more strictly than cultural heritage items of which there are many more.
A relevant law guides the permanent as well as temporary export and sale of both the cultural heritage items and NKPs.
The cultural heritage items are declared by the Culture Ministry, while the government declares the NKPs.
There will be 306 NKPs, including the nine newly declared, as from January 1, 2016.
The Altar of Vyssi Brod has been returned to the Catholic Church within the property settlement with the state.
The church claims the Madonna of Veveri in a lawsuit that it has filed against the state. The painting is now in the collections of the National Gallery in Prague.
