The Kolín Church of St. Bartholomew will remain closed to the public for now

Kolín - The Kolín Cathedral of St. Bartholomew, which is one of the most significant Gothic buildings in the country, will remain closed to the public for now. The reason is extensive repairs that will cost tens of millions of crowns in total. However, the church is receiving an average of about five million crowns a year for the renovation of the church. At this pace, the monument will not be able to reopen for at least three years, said Petr Čech, a construction technician from the Prague Archdiocese, to ČTK.
    The cathedral has been under renovation for over 15 years. Until last year, work was conducted while the church remained open. However, last year the work moved inside, forcing the church to close to the public. "We cannot let people in where they are at risk," Čech added. Therefore, only the bell tower, which was renovated several years ago, is accessible.
    In order for at least part of the cathedral to be accessible again, Čech stated that the restoration of the interior of the nave, the pews, and the replacement of electrical installations must be completed. In total, over ten million crowns are needed for this.
    The last major general reconstruction of the cathedral took place at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Afterwards, only the most necessary repairs were made, such as the roof in the 1960s and stonemasonry work in the 1980s. "When we arrived here in 1992, we realized that the church needed a general renovation," Čech added. Besides the peeling roof covering, surveys revealed numerous damages that were not visible to the naked eye.
    Gradually, the roofs and stonemasonry elements had to be repaired. The southern and northern towers and the bell tower have undergone renovation. About five years ago, work began on the church itself. As work progressed, it became evident that there were leaks in certain structures, such as the roofing of the chapel crowns, that the internal electrical installations were in a critical state, and that the altars and pews were infested with woodworm.
    The funding for the repair of the cathedral comes from the Ministry of Culture, the church, and the city. Requests for grants from European funds for the restoration of the furnishings have so far been unsuccessful. Plans to transform the church and its surroundings into a tourist center for Kolín, prepared by the church along with the city, have also been postponed.
    The Cathedral of St. Bartholomew began construction shortly after the founding of Kolín, during the reign of Přemysl Otakar II around 1260. In 1349, a fire damaged the church, and Emperor Charles IV summoned court architect Petr Parléř for its restoration. Several fires affected the church in the following years, and it was also bombed in Kolín by the Allies in 1945. Since 1995, it has been a national cultural monument.