The reconstruction of St. Bartholomew's Cathedral in Kolín will be delayed by months

Kolín - The start of the reconstruction of the Church of Saint Bartholomew and its surroundings is moving to the turn of summer and autumn. The work was originally scheduled to begin in spring. According to Kolín's mayor Vít Rakušan (STAN), the delay is due to a number of unresolved technical issues, which, according to him, do not jeopardize the subsidy of 90 million crowns granted to Kolín this January. The subsidy will cover 90 percent of the costs. Repairs are expected to last about 1.5 years.

"Perhaps for practical reasons, it is better that the reconstruction has not started yet during the time of Kmoch's Kolín, when part of the program takes place in Bartoloměj," Rakušan commented on the delay. Kmoch's Kolín is an international festival of wind orchestras that Kolín hosts annually. This year it will take place from June 9 to 11.

The city will replace the pavement around the church, update public lighting, add furniture, and thoroughly reconstruct the buildings of the belfry, ossuary, and old school. According to Kolín's deputy mayor Michael Kašpar (STAN), 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 building of the old school.

Beyond the project and the subsidy, the city will revitalize the green-covered ramparts and build a new entrance via a spiral staircase from Politických vězňů street. "The green ramparts are no longer part of the cultural monument, so they cannot be covered by the subsidy," Kašpar said earlier. According to Kašpar, the cost of repairing the ramparts and constructing the new passage is estimated at six to seven million crowns.

The Church of Saint Bartholomew in Kolín is an important Gothic sacral structure. It was built in the second half of the 13th century in forms of early Gothic architecture. From this construction phase, a three-nave structure with a pair of octagonal western towers has been preserved. In the 14th century, Petr Parléř built a completely new, high, cathedral choir with a ring of chapels. At the beginning of the 16th century, the belfry was added. The church is on the list of national cultural monuments.