The project to make the leaning tower of the church in Ústí accessible is completed

Ústí nad Labem - The project to make the leaning tower of the church in the center of Ústí nad Labem accessible is complete. After four years, conservators and firefighters have agreed with architects on the design of the entrance to one of the most tilted towers in Europe. Visitors will enter the tower of the Gothic Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary through an extension designed by the architectural studio of Martin Rajniš. Construction cannot proceed until the city’s new zoning plan is approved. Kateřina Valešová, director of the Ústí Community Foundation, which is implementing the project, told journalists today.

The tower of the Gothic church has deviated more than two meters from vertical over its sixty meters due to bombing at the end of World War II. After being struck by an aerial bomb, it tilted and cracked. The original entrance to the tower was demolished, and the leaning tower has become one of the symbols of the North Bohemian city. The ascent to the top is, however, very precarious.

The church belongs to the Roman Catholic Church. "Considering its somewhat different mission than to create attractions in the city, we took on the project in 2015 and have now succeeded in finding agreement among all parties," said Valešová.

The firefighters had safety requirements. The conservators insisted that the new construction should not compete with the monument. "So that it does not distract attention," said Lucie Radová from the National Heritage Institute to ČTK. According to her, it was essential that the adjustments inside did not affect the valuable parts of the interior, designed by the famous architect Josef Mocker, who was also the author of the reconstruction of Karlštejn.

The extension is designed in the place where a staircase stood until the end of World War II. Visitors will reach a space where the original doors are bricked up via wooden steps. In the bell tower, the architects proposed two staircases to prevent people ascending from meeting those descending. Along the way, they will see the largest bell in the Ústí region and the bell ringer's apartment, from which there is a view of the city.

Through the public fundraising campaign, the foundation has managed to gather nearly 600,000 crowns for the study and various documents. The estimated cost for the project's realization is between ten to twelve million crowns. The foundation will announce a new fundraising campaign in January 2020. Interested parties will still be able to symbolically buy steps, one for 25,000 crowns. "The names of the donors will be inscribed on the stair treads," Valešová stated.

So far, 22 steps have been sold, contributed by 25 donors, including Litoměřice Bishop Jan Baxant. Tourists will climb 280 steps on their way to and from the tower. The community foundation would like to keep the outdoor extension as its property so that it can apply for contributions from European sources, for example. The work inside the church will need to be funded through the fundraising campaign.

The city of Ústí nad Labem supports the project according to Deputy Mayor Tomáš Vlach (ANO), believing that it will enhance the appeal of the city center. If a support request comes in, the councilors will address it, Vlach stated. Archdeacon Miroslav Šimáček said that making the tower accessible could spark interest in the church itself, which was secured after the bombing by the famous designer Bedřich Hacar, who also designed the completion of the damaged Emmaus Monastery in Prague.