40,000 buildings are listed as of architectural or cultural
significance, in addition to 200 conservation zones in historic towns
and as many as twelve sites are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Monuments.
In addition many important historic gardens and parks survive. This
marvellously rich cultural heritage suffered grievous damage under the
long years of Communist rule. The massive nationalisation of private and
church property following the Communist coup of 1948 meant that
the state now had in its care thousands of monuments which it had not
the resources to maintain. About 140 of the most important great houses
and castles were opened to the public as museums. Countless others were
turned into institutions and allowed to deteriorate slowly. Since 1945
over 300 castles and manor houses have been destroyed and currently the
survival of hundreds of others is seriously threatened.
Since the Velvet Revolution of 1989, enormous efforts have been
made to restore a patrimony that in many cases had suffered deeply from
neglect and misuse over forty years. But the task is enormous because
the Czech architectural heritage is so rich.
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