St. Michael's Church a Year After the Fire: The Monument Still Awaits Repair

A rare wooden structure from the 17th century is awaiting the start of reconstruction. However, the Prague magistrate has not yet even begun with the preparatory phase. The upcoming winter will be critical for the wooden building – the complete destruction of the church is at stake.
Exactly one year ago, a monument tragedy struck Prague. On the very holiday of October 28, a fire broke out, which drastically damaged the wooden Church of St. Michael the Archangel in the Kinský Garden. This is a significant loss to cultural heritage – the church from the mid-17th century is among the oldest and most valuable wooden church buildings in our territory.
The history of the church has an interesting connection with the history of the first Czechoslovak Republic. It was originally built in Subcarpathian Russia and made its way to Prague in 1929, at a time when this area was part of Czechoslovakia – it was one of the initiatives aimed at revitalizing the cultural, ethnological, and political interest of the Czech center in the new periphery. The fact that the fire at the church was set on the holiday marking the establishment of an independent Czechoslovak state is extraordinarily curious.
Even more curious is the fact that even after a year since the disaster, the restoration has not begun. The first weeks after the fire seemed promising. The city councilors from the magistrate and Prague 5 committed to saving the damaged building. They even established a public fundraiser for its restoration, which has already managed to gather over 1.8 million crowns. In January of this year, the building was also secured against the elements, and a designer was even selected. However, that is where it has stopped so far.
Under the supervision of the National Heritage Institute, experts prepared a restoration concept in the spring – as it turned out, the building will not need to be replaced with a copy, a significant portion of the structure is still possible to save. However, several professional surveys (such as a historical or technical survey) must be prepared to initiate repairs. The call for their completion was delivered to the owner of the monument by the magistrate's department for heritage care back in April of this year. So far, however, there has been no real response.
The owner is the city, specifically the Department of Property Management of the City of Prague. Commissioning specialized expertise can be administratively demanding. However, half a year of inactivity is a long time even for a busy office. All the more so because, according to experts, time is of the essence. Unlike stone and bricks, wood deteriorates more quickly – higher humidity poses a risk of mold or wood rot, which could irreparably destroy the preserved structures. Therefore, the approaching winter raises concerns. If surveys and repairs do not start as soon as possible, it is possible that the monument will be completely lost.

This year’s holiday on October 28 is not just an anniversary of the fire. It is also an opportunity for the magistrate's Department of Property Management to finally initiate steps to save the monument. It would be a shame to commemorate October 28 with yet another loss of heritage.