Repairs of the cloister at Zelená hora in Žďár nad Sázavou have begun for over one hundred million

Žďár nad Sázavou - Craftsmen have begun repairing the ambulatory that surrounds the Church of St. John of Nepomuk on Green Mountain in Žďár nad Sázavou. The work on the ambulatory will last approximately two years and will involve plastering and decoration. This was stated today by Vladimír Vojtěch Záleský, the dean of the Roman Catholic parish. The project, with a budget of around 118 million crowns, which also includes the repair of the church's organ, is funded by European grants.

The pilgrimage site designed by architect Jan Blažej Santini-Aichl is among UNESCO heritage sites. Repairs to the church, also carried out with the help of European grants, were completed last year. The ambulatory, measuring nearly half a kilometer, will have its exterior and interior plaster repaired, and the stucco decorations will be restored.

"Right now, there is a bare wall, but fortunately, we know what it originally looked like," said Záleský. He added that the parish will place a Stations of the Cross in the ambulatory, which has always been there, as this outdoor hallway served pilgrims as a refuge and also as a place for contemplation. "Just as we returned the bells to Green Mountain, the Stations of the Cross must be returned as well. We want it to be truly timeless, beautifully artistically processed," the priest stated.

Three new bells have been ringing on Green Mountain since September 2016. The pilgrimage site had been without bells for three-quarters of a century, as the originals were confiscated during World War II. The roofs of the ambulatory will not be repaired now, as the covering is, according to Záleský, in good condition.

The repairs on the ambulatory began this spring. "Now it's in what I would call a dirty phase, where what doesn't belong there is being removed," Záleský explained. Craftsmen have begun to chip off restoration plasters done 20 years ago, which are already worn out. The new plasters should be as similar as possible to the original lime ones. Work is taking place in several locations, but tourist tours, according to Záleský, will not be restricted. He noted that the number of weddings on Green Mountain is also increasing.

The work on the church restoration, costing approximately 48 million crowns, was completed last year. It has a repaired facade and windows. The interior's sculptural decorations, altar, and floor, which consists of tiles of various shapes and colors, were restored. The site of the former cemetery between the church and the ambulatory has been transformed into a pilgrimage meadow.

The church was consecrated on September 27, 1722. The period of prosperity for the pilgrimage site was interrupted by a fire in 1784. The administration at that time permitted repairs on the condition that the church would serve as a funeral site and have a cemetery. The cemetery was abolished in the 1990s following the site's inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The Roman Catholic parish has managed Green Mountain since 2014.