Plzeň Cathedral will reopen in June after a complete reconstruction costing 100 million

Plzeň - The Cathedral of St. Bartolomew in the Republic Square in Pilsen will open after a three-year reconstruction at the beginning of June. The Pilsen Diocese has prepared a multi-day program that includes an exhibition, cathedral tours, concerts by the Philharmonic, organists, and the J. K. Tyl Theatre, a diocesan meeting, and a pontifical mass. It is also addressing how to allow greater public participation in accordance with current anti-epidemic measures. The renovation cost about 115 million crowns, with the vast majority covered by EU grants, Bishop Tomáš Holub told ČTK today.

"This is the festival of festivals. I believe it has the dimension of an event that one experiences once in a lifetime," he said about the reopening of the cathedral. Although, as the local bishop, he was able to monitor the progress of the renovations daily, he is gradually taking a look at the interior. "I am slightly denying myself a peek into the cathedral so that I can always see significant progress and have great joy," he noted. He is convinced that the renewed beauty of the cathedral will not only captivate the people of Pilsen.

In addition to restoration and reconstruction, the temple will offer new lighting that can be varied for different occasions and events, social facilities, and heated benches. A new feature is the access to the loft. "It is a loft with a unique Gothic truss, which has few comparisons throughout Central Europe," said the bishop.

The temple, which has been the main church of the Pilsen Diocese for nearly 30 years, will finally receive a cathedra, which is the seat where the bishop sits during a festive service. "It is in itself a modern work of art that will be blessed and will first be part of the liturgy during the festive mass on Sunday," said the bishop.

The complete renovation involved construction and restoration work according to architect Jan Soukup, with dozens of people participating. The walls and vaults were cleaned, chapels, the choir, the presbytery, and altars were restored, and dozens of statues and paintings were sent to restoration studios. One of the most valuable Gothic Madonnas in the Czech Republic – the Pilsen Madonna, believed to have been made before 1384 – was also restored. During the repairs, according to Soukup, damage to some vaults was discovered that needed to be reinforced and repaired.

"Only upon close inspection could it be seen that some parts weren't holding. This could become a huge problem over time," stated the architect.

The festive opening of the cathedral will begin on June 2 with the exhibition "Heart of the City, Heart of the Diocese" in the square. Then a new exhibition will open in the loft and in the evening, the Pilsen Philharmonic will perform a festive concert. Free tours will be held on Thursday and Friday, June 3 and 4, which the church intends to offer to healthcare workers, firefighters, and police officers who bore the burden of fighting the coronavirus pandemic, as well as teachers and students who had to manage online education.

On Saturday, a Diocesan Pilgrimage is planned for a limited number of invited representatives from the diocese. "Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Václav Malý, who served as a chaplain at Bartolomew's and fondly remembers it," Holub said. At the evening concert on the newly restored organ from 1894, featuring 4,000 pipes, the regenschori from the cathedrals in Pilsen, Prague, and Regensburg will perform. The celebrations will culminate on Sunday with a mass celebrated by Bishop Holub, followed by a charitable opera concert by the J. K. Tyl Theatre in the evening.