The Czech government has approved further steps to restore and transform Bubny railway station into the Bubny Memorial of Silence and Centre for Remembrance and Dialogue. This includes the transfer of the land on which the station stands, its reconstruction, the preparation of project documentation, and the financing of the initiative.
The new memorial, the Bubny Centre for Remembrance and Dialogue (Centrum paměti a dialogu Bubny), is an institution under the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. As a cultural and educational centre, its mission is to preserve the memory of Holocaust victims. It is envisioned as a living space that connects past and present through educational and cultural programmes aimed at the general public, with a particular focus on school groups.
‘The approval for the reconstruction of Bubny railway station marks a turning point and a major step towards creating a new memorial institution that will ensure the Holocaust is never forgotten,’ said Culture Minister Martin Baxa.
‘Between 1941 and 1945, around 50,000 people, mainly Jews, were deported to Theresienstadt and other Nazi concentration and extermination camps via Prague-Bubny railway station. From the outset, we planned that once the station was modernised, the original Prague-Bubny station building would be transformed into a memorial with a permanent exhibition commemorating the deportation of Jews during the Protectorate. This project has now been given the green light,’ said Transport Minister Martin Kupka.
Under the government-approved plan, the land on which the Prague-Bubny railway station building and the adjacent railway administration building stand will be transferred to the Bubny Centre for Remembrance and Dialogue. As part of the collaboration, the Railway Administration will oversee the reconstruction project, while the Centre will be responsible for preparing and financing the redevelopment. Construction work is scheduled to begin in the summer, with estimated pre-tender costs of around CZK 200 million.
The cooperation between the Railway Administration, the Ministry of Culture, and the Bubny Centre for Remembrance and Dialogue is governed by an agreement on coordinated reconstruction. This approach was chosen to ensure the memorial’s development aligns with the modernisation of the Prague-Bubny – Prague-Výstaviště railway line. It also enables more efficient project management by the Railway Administration, which has long leased the station building to the Bubny Centre for Remembrance and Dialogue.
