Chotěšov has announced a collection, it needs to replace hundreds of windows of the monastery

Chotěšov (Plzeň Region) - The collection "Buy Your Window," aimed at restoring the windows of the extensive monastery in Chotěšov in the Plzeň region, will be officially launched for the second time by the local council for three years. The dilapidated complex belongs to the municipality, but it lacks the funds for an estimated repair cost of over one billion crowns. The World Monuments Fund, which focuses on the protection of world cultural heritage, included the monastery in 2003 in its list of the 100 most endangered monuments in the world. The municipality is seeking various grants and funding sources and is gradually repairing the roofs and replacing windows, said Mayor Jaroslava Mathesová today to ČTK.
    "The monastery has as many windows as there are days in a year - 365. So far, we have managed to replace about 30," she noted. One window costs around 25,000 crowns; last year they managed to replace several thanks to subsidies from the region, sponsors, proceeds from the previous campaign, and contributions from the municipality.
    They are also gradually repairing the roofs and rafters above the convent. The municipality receives a yearly contribution of about one to two million crowns from the Ministry of Culture. "We would need at least five million at once to make some progress; for the restoration of the roof and rafters of the convent, we would need about an additional ten million crowns, as about a third of the roof is yet to be completed, and the roof of the chateau, which is slowly at risk of collapse, would cost an estimated additional million," said the mayor. To date, the repairs to the roofs have cost over 20 million crowns.
    Even though the municipality has tried to find investors who could use the monastery, it has never worked out. "They do a financial analysis and find that it is not worthwhile," Mathesová noted. The municipality has also applied for further grants and funds. It hoped to secure a larger amount from the integrated operational program of the Ministry of Culture. "However, we are not a national cultural monument, so we cannot receive a grant from that program. Therefore, we will strive to get ourselves classified as a national cultural monument," the mayor does not lose hope. According to her, there is a possibility of utilizing part of the monastery. It could serve as a depository for damaged and destroyed sandstone sculptures and restoration workshops.
    The monastery, founded between 1202 and 1210 by the patron of the Plzeň diocese, Blessed Hroznata, has been plundered, partially destroyed, burned, and gradually restored many times over the centuries. It underwent a baroque reconstruction but was soon abolished by Joseph II. Later, it was used by the Sisters of the Order of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary, who also opened a boarding school for the education of girls there. The current dilapidated state has been influenced, among other factors, by the thirty-year presence of the army.