In Kolín, the repairs around the Church of St. Bartolomew are coming to an end

Kolin - The repairs around the Church of St. Bartholomew in Kolin will be completed by the end of May. This will be followed by the furnishing of the interiors, and the first visitors could come here around mid-September for the European Heritage Days. Construction work began at the turn of 2017 and 2018, costing approximately 90 million crowns, 90 percent of which will be covered by EU and state grants, said Mayor Michael Kašpar (Change for Kolin).

The green parks are already finished, and both the exterior and interior of the city walls have been repaired, with new lighting installed. "A vineyard is being prepared, irrigation is complete, and it will only be connected to the stormwater drainage," said Kašpar. An underground storage tank will be installed to collect rainwater.

Workers are currently finishing the paving of the area between the bell tower and the old school. The bell tower, which will house an exhibition, is nearly complete. Work is being done on the old school building, which according to the mayor still requires the most work. "Additional exhibitions are being prepared here, interior work is being completed, and the facade and roof are finished," said Kašpar.

Work is being completed in the ossuary, where skeletal decor is being finalized. "The area is starting to be ready; construction work will continue until the end of May," said Kašpar. Repairs have been delayed; the entire reconstruction was originally supposed to be completed by the end of last year.

One reason for the delay is the archaeological survey, during which the original city cemetery was uncovered. The uncovered graves date from the late Middle Ages and early modern period, roughly from the 16th to the 17th century.

The Church of St. Bartholomew in Kolin is a significant Gothic sacred structure. It was built in the second half of the 13th century, from which a three-nave design with a pair of octagonal western towers has been preserved. In the 14th century, Peter Parler built a new cathedral choir with a ring of chapels. At the beginning of the 16th century, a bell tower was added.