Unknown thief stole historical pavement in Mohelnice

Olomouc - The reconstruction of the Church of St. Thomas of Canterbury in Mohelnice, in the Šumperk region, has been complicated by an unknown thief who stole about 40 historical sandstone tiles from the city center on the night leading to Wednesday. Conservationists will have to solve the problem of how to replace the original material. This is reported by today’s Šumperk and Jeseník newspaper (Deník).
    The paving stones were lying on the lawn in the middle of the square and were prepared for re-laying on the sidewalk along the church. Part of the stone squares had already been laid, and the thief removed them.
    "He must have arrived with a truck; he wouldn't have been able to load them into a personal vehicle. It must have been someone local, well acquainted with the situation. He knew that there were practically no apartments in the surrounding houses, so no one would see him. The square is adjacent to a museum, other buildings house offices, and the rectory has its windows facing the other side,” said Josef Reichl from the department of development and investments of the Mohelnice town hall.
    The thief caused damages of 25,000 koruna to the town. However, the issue of what to replace the old paving with is more problematic than the financial loss. "New tiles will disrupt the overall impression because they will lack patina; it will take a long time for them to achieve the same color as the original material,” emphasized Mohelnice conservationist Jitka Srovnalová. The age of the stolen tiles is estimated to be at least 100 years.
    Town hall officials are hopeful that the thief's vehicle could be identified by some of the security cameras monitoring the adjacent main square. The vehicle had to pass by them from the church. The cameras were installed in the center of Mohelnice after unknown vandals damaged the plague column several years ago.