The competition for the design of the Žďár Green Mountain information center was won by architect Petr Stolín

Žďár nad Sázavou – The architectural competition for the design of an information tourist center for the pilgrimage site at Zelená hora in Žďár nad Sázavou was won by the studio Petr Stolín Architekt. The jury evaluated 27 proposals. Representatives of the city informed the press today. The UNESCO site lacks facilities. Pastor Vladimír Záleský expects that construction will start in three to four years at the earliest, due to financial reasons.

Last year, the parish completed the restoration of the church at Zelená hora for tens of millions of crowns and is preparing renovations of its cloister, which will be even more expensive according to Záleský. Nevertheless, he believes it is good that the proposal for the information center was created, as it will make it possible to apply for a grant if a suitable funding title arises. "I think the foundation has been laid, and that is important," he said. According to him, the pilgrimage site mainly needs toilets for pilgrims and facilities for guides.


The architectural competition was organized by the city in collaboration with the Roman Catholic parish that manages Zelená hora, and both parties should share the costs of the planned project. The construction of the center is expected to cost up to 20 million crowns, and an additional 15 million crowns will be needed for the development of related infrastructure.

Architectural proposals could be submitted until December 20, and the jury evaluated them on January 12. "The jury unanimously agreed on the first place," said city architect Zbyněk Ryška. He added that the jury included architects with extensive experience in heritage preservation, as well as landscape architect Zdeněk Sendler.

The winning proposal includes the construction of a single-story building at the foot of Zelená hora, along Sychrova Street. The center is to have a second façade made of steel mesh with greenery, which will provide shade from the surroundings. As Ryška mentioned, according to the jury, the chosen solution maximally preserves the visual axes toward the pilgrimage site and does not compete with the silhouette of this significant monument by architect Jan Blažej Santini-Aichl.

Last year, people from the surrounding area signed a petition against the plan to build an information center at Zelená hora. Mayor Martin Mrkos (Žďár-živé město) said today that a representative of the petition committee was also involved in the selection of the proposal. The city hall plans to exhibit all competition proposals shortly and is planning a meeting with citizens on this topic.

The costs for the architectural competition were around half a million crowns according to earlier data from the city hall. The winning proposal was awarded 200,000 crowns.

This year marks the 300th anniversary of the consecration of the Church of St. John of Nepomuk at Zelená hora. The city hall, together with the church and the association Putování za Santinim, are preparing a rich program for this anniversary.