This was another surprise, just after the nomination of Czech beech forests, that very new addition to the Czech T-list is the old wastewater treatment plant in the northern outer part of Prague city center - in Bubeneč, very close to Vltava river. Well, it is not such surprising as the water management-related sites are now in the focus of the UNESCO experts and state parties. Nevertheless, my secret guess to a new addition to TWHS would be another site in Prague related to water - a monumental building of the water treatment plant in the southern edge of the Prague center - in Podolí, also close to Vltava river (visit highly recommended as well). Thus, the water treatment plant in Podolí for producing drinking water is upstream but the wastewater treatment plant in Bubeneč is downstream - That sounds logical! However, I must admit that the structure in Podolí is monumental but not such unique from the point of view of industrial architecture as the waste water treatment plant in Bubeneč, which was declared as the Czech national monument in 2010 and praised by the experts on the industrial heritage. Thus the selection made by the Czech state party is understandable.

I am not such an expert and could not recognized qualities of this old building from 1906. I was aware of its existence but there was not reason to go around too often because the old wastewater treatment plant is very close to the new one, which is not obviously a place for evening strolls... However, the Bubeneč district has very residential, almost posh character, and the area with the TWHS is separated only by railway tracks. The site is very close to already cancelled railway station Praha-Bubeneč and not far to another one that is in the operation, Praha-Podbaba, with the tram stop.

I have not been inside yet but the site is open for visitors all year long (check their web pages). From the outside, the structure is quite large and it looks like quite interesting old factory. There are also cafe and beer bar in the "garden", but the vast green area just covers the underground parts for the wastewater treatment (PHOTO).

To conclude: the site is certainly interesting and perfectly preserved, but I cannot decide if this TWHS deserves the inscription and has any OUV, I would intuitively say YES - but we will see once the comparative analysis is released. As this site is explicitly mentioned as the case study site in the Water Industry As World Heritage document accessible via the link in the nomination text (it is there together with Augsburg and Tarnowskie Gory water management systems - WHSs with very low ratings by our community...), I would expect this nomination is supported also by experts. For sure it has better chances to be inscribed than some Czech TWHSs such as early medieval excavations in Mikulčice and renaissance houses in Slavonice.

Updates: I visited the interiors of the plant with my friend in September 2020 during a weekday, thus, we were only visitors. All the important details about the brick architecture and the plant function have been already described in the review by Els. Though, the plant is in reasonable shape and very authentic, I noticed that some bricks are already falling apart. It is understandable and at the same time impressive after 100 years after foundation and many years in rather harsh conditions. However, I cannot imagine how expensive would be a reconstruction of the plant. The WHS nomination is now supported mainly by NGOs and the support of the state party is still lukewarm.

To conclude, this is an important monument of industrial architecture, but I change my mind and I am not sure if it is unique enough for the inscription to the list. We will see what will happen with this nomination...