The repair of St. Bartolomew's Church in Kolín will begin after the holidays

Kolín - The reconstruction of the Church of St. Bartholomew in Kolín and its surroundings, amounting to approximately 90 million crowns, will begin in September. Since the building is a national cultural monument, the National Heritage Institute will oversee the work process. Inspections are to be strict to ensure the best possible outcome of the repairs, Mayor Vít Rakušan (STAN) said to journalists today. According to him, the area will be closed to the public and to filmmakers, who often use the church and its surroundings, during the work.

The city has obtained a grant for the reconstruction that will cover 90 percent of the costs. According to initial plans, the repairs were to start in the spring. Rakušan stated that a number of unresolved technicalities could have caused the delay.

The vicinity of the monument will be closed gradually. As part of one phase, the area in front of the church will also be closed. The city will have the pavement replaced around it, public lighting added, outdoor furniture supplemented, and the buildings of the belfry, ossuary, and old school reconstructed. According to Kolín's deputy mayor Michael Kašpar (Change for Kolín), it is essential that the project has been developed for the entire area around the church. A replica of an 18th-century classroom will be placed in the renovated old school building.

The repairs should be completed in one and a half years. Only the repair of the ossuary will take longer, as the plan counts on a completion date six months later due to conservation work.

In addition to the project and the grant, the city will revitalize the ramparts and create a new entrance from Politických vězňů Street. "The ramparts are no longer part of the cultural monument, so the grant cannot apply to them," Kašpar said earlier. The costs for repairing the ramparts and building the passage are estimated at six to seven million crowns.

The Church of St. Bartholomew in Kolín is a significant Gothic sacred structure. It was built in the second half of the 13th century, from which the three-nave with a pair of octagonal western towers has been preserved. In the 14th century, Petr Parléř built a new, tall, cathedral choir with a wreath of chapels. At the beginning of the 16th century, a belfry was added.