Dittrich's tomb in Krásná Lípa is no longer deteriorating, the town has placed it under a roof

photo: https://www.ceskesvycarsko.cz/cs/blog/obnova-hrobky-rodiny-dittrichu-v-krasne-lipe

Krásná Lípa – The cherished tomb of the significant industrialist August Dittrich in Krásná Lípa in the Děčín region is no longer falling into disrepair. The town has managed to put the historic mausoleum under a roof. Only the covering is missing, which has so far been replaced by a makeshift foil. Rain no longer seeps into the building, so there is no risk of it being definitively destroyed, said Mayor Jan Kolář (Association 2022) to ČTK.

"At this moment, there is no leakage. The entire structure is stabilized, and at least the monument is not at risk of further deterioration," Kolář stated. The construction of the roof has been a several-year effort by the town. The town hall first secured the building structurally, then continued with the arch adjustments, and only then could the roofing structure begin. "All of this had to be done before we could make interventions in the top beam, which is what the roof stands on," the mayor added regarding the construction work. The metal covering for Dittrich's tomb will be installed by the end of April.

The historic structure has been damaged by moisture. The mausoleum is three meters below ground level and has been excavated, creating a gap around the building through which air flows inside. "This is being examined now to see how functional it is," the mayor said, noting that the structure should ventilate itself. "We know that there will be no water coming from above; moisture from below should be ventilated," Kolář stated.

So far, the town has invested about 5.5 million koruna into the tomb. It received a grant from the Ústí Region amounting to 2.3 million koruna. For the next phase, 3.5 million koruna is prepared, with three million also coming from grants. However, according to the city management, the main challenge for next year is to develop a complete project documentation for the tomb's preservation. The project will also lead to budgets for individual reimbursements. The restoration will ultimately cost several tens of millions of koruna. The town hall does not have that much money, so it wants to utilize grants extensively.

The city has become the owner of the Dittrich family mausoleum; according to the town hall, administrative delays held up the transfer. The valuable tomb was purchased from the insolvency administrator for 10,000 koruna. The reconstruction of the tomb of the significant industrialist will take several years. The town would like to create an exhibition on the history of the family on the ground floor.

The mausoleum was designed in 1886 by the Berlin architect Julius Carl Raschdorff, who is also the author of the tomb of German Emperor Frederick III in Potsdam. The walls of the Krásná Lípa tomb are covered with a glass blue-golden mosaic, and its technical background is also exceptional. The building includes a small boiler room, which made it possible to heat the mausoleum. The internal decoration was taken care of by August Frind, a native of Krásná Lípa, from whom only small parts of the paintings have survived. The Ministry of Culture declared the Dittrich family mausoleum a cultural monument in 2006.