The church is restoring the Chinese pavilion in the Podzámecká garden in Kroměříž

Kroměříž - The Church is renovating the Chinese Pavilion in the Podzámecká Garden of Kroměříž, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The costs will exceed two million crowns. The pavilion stands on an island in the Wild Pond. After the renovation, visitors will be able to admire it in the form captured by historic photographs taken before World War I. Jiří Gračka, spokesperson for the Olomouc Archdiocese, stated this today.

Work on the restoration of the pavilion began this year. In the past, according to Šárka Brantalová from the construction department of the archdiocese, it was often repainted with colors available on the market without any historical context. "One of the goals of the restoration was to return the pavilion to its former beauty and show visitors what the pavilion could have looked like between 1900 and 1910," Brantalová noted.

Thanks to the study of old photographs, views, and documents in archives, experts are striving to ensure the original colors of the wooden columns and railings for the pavilion. The roofs were adorned with floral ornaments. "The reconstruction of the template decorations, alongside the presentation of findings from the historical templating on plastered ceilings of the roofs, is very expensive, and these costs exceed the original budget of approximately 200,000 crowns," Gračka explained.

At least part of this amount is what the church hopes to raise through a public collection announced by the non-profit organization Czech National Trust in cooperation with the Administration of the Archbishop's Palace and Gardens in Kroměříž. So far, over 50,000 crowns have been collected.

The pavilion's restoration is financed by the funds of the Olomouc Archdiocese and the Administration of the Archbishop's Palace and Gardens in Kroměříž. The Zlín Region has also contributed to it. According to Gračka, the completion of the pavilion's repairs depends on the weather and the timing when the church can secure the necessary funds. The Chinese Pavilion likely dates from between 1883 and 1890. It continues the tradition of buildings inspired by Chinese culture, which has roots deep in the 18th century in the Podzámecká Garden.

Currently, the Podzámecká Garden is temporarily closed to the public. Intense rain in recent days has caused trees to fall. The soil in the garden is also heavily saturated, posing a risk of additional falls. After the terrain dries, dendrologists will have to inspect the trees. "I wouldn't want to estimate the opening date of the garden at this moment," Jiří Uhlíř, director of the Administration of the Archbishop's Palace and Gardens in Kroměříž, said to ČTK this afternoon. The nature-landscape park in the style of English gardens covers an area of 64 hectares.