We are here and again we ask Ing. Václav Benedikt, the chairman of the board of Elisabeth Spa, if it is possible to implement his vision to save the last public baths in Karlovy Vary. In the interview, we will discuss what is ready for implementation now and for the future.
How much time do you have for all this?
Alzbětiny Lázně definitely has more of it than I do. They have proven this by their many decades of waiting for the attention and investment they deserve. The AL staff definitely has less time because, despite all efforts, the effort and quality of their work is still not evaluated as it deserves. However, I will not let this go unnoticed. I still have time, unless an unexpected event changes everything until the municipal elections in 2022. What will happen after that is in the stars.
There is not much time, are you more of an optimist or a pessimist?
I always prefer to expect the worst in order to be pleasantly surprised, but I will not stop hoping.
What are the plans and where are you taking Elizabeth's Spa?
We are in symbiosis with the city management to submit a comprehensive study of AL resuscitation before the end of the year. In other words, comprehensive preparation for when, how much and what will be operated in Alžbětinky. Our goal is to return Alžbětina's spa to the closest possible original form of a hot spring and bog spa and thus create the most delicious bite on the Karlovy Vary spa menu. Our models are the spas in Budapest or FriedrichsBad in Baden-Baden. This vision should be fulfilled in partial stages according to financial and technical possibilities.
What specifically is ready to be implemented at this moment?
At this moment, we have prepared the possibility of financing the window replacement project, where we are issuing a tender for construction contractors with implementation at the turn of 2021 and 2022. Thus, we will carry out the first major implementation of repairs to the Alžbětiny lázní building in the last 50 years. This will be followed by a complete reconstruction of the truss and roof sheathing, for which we will take over the project documentation by the end of this year. We are also preparing partial repairs like every year. Now it is a swimming pool complex, replacement of old equipment at the building, etc.
How do you perceive the staff of Alžbětina lázně in all of this?
Each and every one of them, from the maintenance man, the cleaner to the entire balneo operation, their manager to the director, are at this moment indispensable in maintaining the Karlovy Vary spa tradition, and that's no exaggeration. I realize that their role is not simple and in a way it is a mission. Now, however, it is necessary to invest in the environment in which they do their work, so that their professionalism can better stand out.
Do you see the possibility of saving the Karlovy Vary spa industry hand in hand with saving Alžbětinek?
Definitely yes. The Alžbětinky is the only historic public spa operation that has been operating continuously since its establishment in 1906. Even though the past city management treated the spa in a very paternalistic way and the operation was very limited, we have the unique opportunity with the Alžbětinky to experience the traditional symbiosis of natural healing sources with modern methods , the art of experts who have often worked in the spa industry for several decades. All the more we realize how huge a responsibility we have for the future of Karlovy Vary spa industry. The year 2021 also showed this, when despite all the restrictions, the operation of Alžbětinek was the only outpatient rehabilitation center that continuously helped all its clients to live a full life.
And what is the long-term biggest enemy of Elizabeth's Spa?
Indifference, a trait that can generally bring us all down as humans. It's the same indifference that allows bystanders to let the adults beat up a helpless pensioner. The same indifference that allows some politicians to perceive their own interests more than the public welfare entrusted to them.
How is political support today?
As a coalition representative, I am part of today's city management, so in symbiosis within the coalition, we are looking for ways of possible rescue. It is not an easy path, but the right must win over the easy. I also consider it essential to understand that today Alžběta's Spa actually provides spa care in the form of a public service, and that's the only one.
And what about potential buyers of Elizabeth's Spa? Did they disappear?
Old ones disappeared, new ones appeared. There are those who are constantly tempted by the idea of selling the last values that the city owns. It always has similar denominators, such as the city should not own anything, the city should not operate anything, it should not do business, to the point that everything will be solved by the invisible hand of the market. If the last city spa was to be sold, the cage would fall. Let's stick to the resolution of the city council from September 2019, where we approved the commitment to maintain public spa operations in Alžbětina lázně with the support of the city. However, unless we decide that Karlovy Vary should not be a spa.
Source: pr.denik.cz