The costs for the construction of a replica of the church in Gutech will amount to 27 million CZK

Ostrava - The costs of building a replica of the church in Gut, which was intentionally set on fire in August 2017, will amount to 27 million crowns. The diocese has so far invested about nine million. Václav Kotásek, the head of the construction department of the diocese, told ČTK. Construction is set to begin around spring. It is currently blocked by a dispute between the firefighters and the diocese over the fire safety measures for the wooden structure.

"The restoration of the Church of the Body of Christ in Gut will require a total cost of around 27 million crowns. So far, we have invested about 8.5 million. Mainly for the clearance of the debris, the procurement and modification of wood and stone, preparation of documentation, and more," Kotásek stated.

He added that the costs will be primarily covered by insurance for the destroyed church and funds from a public collection in the city of Třinec. The Diocese of Ostrava-Opava donated wood for the production of shingles, and the Statutory City of Ostrava provided 300,000 crowns for the production of new bells, while the regional office allocated 200,000 crowns for the debris removal.

However, it is still unclear exactly when construction will start. It is already delayed. The work was originally supposed to begin last year, but discussions with heritage preservationists delayed it. This year, the deadline was missed due to the dispute between the diocese and the firefighters, who have already rejected the project for the fire safety measures of the building twice. For example, they require the electronic signalization to be connected directly to their centralized protection panel. However, the diocese refuses this. They consider this solution unnecessarily expensive and advocate for a connection to a private agency's panel.

According to Kotásek, the wooden parts of the church are already assembled in Hošťálková, where carpenters were preparing the construction. Now they need to secure them for winter.

The 16th-century church burned down on the night of August 2, 2017. The fire caused damage of around 20 million crowns. The Regional Court of Ostrava sentenced three eighteen-year-old youths from the Ostrava and Frýdek-Místek regions to prison for 3.5 years, eight, and nine years for setting fire to the precious church. The highest sentence was given to the young man who masterminded the act, while the lowest sentence went to the boy who set the building on fire - at the time of the act, he was still a minor. An eight-year sentence was given to the driver who brought everyone to the site.