On Monday after noon, the police officers stopped checking visitors to the Prague Castle and started removing the security frames. President Petr Pavel, Minister of the Interior Vít Rakušan (STAN) and police director Martin Vondrášek announced the cancellation of checks at a morning press conference.
The removal of the security frames, through which all visitors had to pass until now, began at noon at the entrance from Hradčanské náměstí. At the entrance from the Mariánské hradeb near Prašné mostu, the police were still checking visitors for a few minutes after twelve, after which they removed the control device and began to let tourists in freely.
However, one frame remained in place, through which some visitors continued to pass, while other police officers let them in without checking. Barriers against uncontrolled entry of vehicles continue to remain on Prašné most. Several police officers remain present at the scene.
Controls at the entrances to the Prague Castle grounds were introduced in 2016. According to critics, the measures were unnecessary. At that time, the castle defended them with the need to ensure the safety of tourists. The Austrian recently said that the security frames could possibly only be in selected places inside the premises and the Castle premises would be monitored. The abolition of controls began to be talked about more than a year ago, the situation changed with the Russian aggression in Ukraine
Pavlo’s team also carried out a revision of the project, which would allow for a comprehensive approach to the protection of the Castle. This will be, for example, a new concept of entrance security. In a period of about one to two months, the Castle could launch a tender for suppliers.
Police President Vondrášek said that last spring a plan was prepared for the transition to random checks, but then came the Russian military invasion of Ukraine. “No one in the security community knew what this thing was going to bring,” he explained. According to him, during the next periodic assessment of security risks last fall, it was not possible to cancel the measures due to illegal migration, the Czech presidency of the EU Council, the approaching Advent season and the presidential elections.
Now these security risks have disappeared, so the police have turned to full checks of all cars, random checks of visitors and more effective use of the camera system. There will be preventive patrols in all the courtyards of the Castle, added Vondrášek. The Austrian promised cooperation on the project, which should lead to the removal of physical roadblocks for vehicles in their current form.
The police officers will have information from the cameras for random checks at the Castle, it will be up to them whether they proceed with the check, said Vondrášek. “One frame will be left at each entrance for practical reasons, as it is significantly less burdensome than other police detection tools,” he noted. According to him, the police want to keep the background at all entrances, because a change in the security situation can never be ruled out.
