Czech Třebová and the region are addressing a petition regarding the rotunda of St. Catherine

Pardubice - The Pardubice region will likely forward a petition criticizing the reconstruction of the house near the rotunda of Saint Catherine in Česká Třebová to the local city office. This will probably be done by the end of the week. Michal Votřel from the regional office told ČTK. The same wording of the petition is being addressed by the Česká Třebová officials. The rotunda is the oldest monument in Eastern Bohemia.

The petitioners are bothered that the construction overshadows the monument, which originally used to be the dominant feature of the hill. They expected a simple renovation of the house, but the construction work is much more extensive. They therefore want to restore the building permit procedure, said Petr Kulička from the petition committee on their website.

Mayor Jaroslav Zedník does not want to anticipate how officials will respond to the petition. He wants to personally deliver the final report to the authors of the petition. "I look at it from the window. Of course, if the building were not there, it would be much better; that is beyond discussion, because the rotunda would be visible. On the other hand, the building is not fully finished, so I cannot comment," he told ČTK.

Critics of the construction do not like that the unfinished house does not have the original and more suitable hipped roof and that the roof terrace significantly overhangs the perimeter walls. The house is intended for spiritual and cultural events. It is being reconstructed by the Friends of Jeunesse Lumiere association, which is the Czech equivalent of the international school of prayer and evangelization for young people from France.

"We would like to remind that the house no. 254 has stood in this place for more than 100 years, and the current reconstruction has changed the visibility of the rotunda only to a small extent. We emphasize even more that the rotunda is rather shaded by the trees that are nearby, in such a way that the chapel cannot be seen through them," stated Hana Johnová, the chairwoman of the association, on its website.

Governor Martin Netolický (ČSSD) previously stated that he would strive to establish a protective zone around the monument, which would prevent similar disputes.