The church in Doubravník received an award after the renovation, and a blessing is awaiting it this weekend

Doubravník - The complete restoration of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Doubravník in the Brno region took three years. On Saturday, May 25, a ceremonial blessing of the church will take place, which won in the large buildings category in the Best Restored Monument competition for the South Moravian Region in 2023. The most significant aspect for the future of the church was the restoration of the roof, the spires, and the construction of a ventilation system that removes moisture from the building, said Doubravník's mayor, Barbora Šenkyříková (KDU-ČSL), to ČTK.

In addition to the roof reconstruction, replicas of the spires were created and installed. The originals were destroyed by weather conditions. "It was also necessary to replace some elements in the rafters because they were damaged. In one place, segments that form the crowning cornice of the nave and also support the roof were sagging and needed to be lifted. All marble elements of the facade were restored, and the entire facade was renewed," described the work Šenkyříková.

To remove moisture, a ventilation channel was created from the base of the walls, part of the terrain around the church was lowered, and openings in the vault of the church nave were also restored. "They lead into the rafters, and the moisture is vented further away from the rafters. These openings in the vault have been there since the construction of the church, but over the years they had been sealed off. Now, during the renovation, they were restored," said the mayor.

Airflow is also assisted by the opening windows in the stained glass. They too were taken care of by restorers. Some of them were completely restored, while others were only resealed, having already undergone restoration in 2000.

Restorers also worked on the historic benches, confessionals, and cast iron sarcophagi from the Mitrovský crypt, as well as all entrance doors. All the grilles were newly manufactured to match the style of the church.

The electrical installations, lighting, and fire protection systems are completely new. According to the mayor, parishioners will surely appreciate the original way of addressing the cool environment in the church. "Over the years, various heating methods have been tried here, as it can be very cold in the marble church. The problem is that any heating element in the space is very disruptive, and any heat released into the space immediately escapes into the stone walls or through the stained glass windows. On the advice of the designer, we chose the option of heated seat cushions. The cushions are heated and connected to a power source through the podium under the benches," described Šenkyříková. Inside the church, due to the work on ventilation measures, it was necessary to restore the plaster up to about two meters high, and the entire interior of the church has a new paint job.

All the work cost 61 million crowns, of which 58 million was covered by funding from the European operational program for the protection of cultural heritage. The Roman Catholic parish, which was the investor of the work, took out a loan for the repairs. The South Moravian Region and the municipality of Doubravník also contributed.

The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Doubravník stands on the site of the original church of a defunct Augustinian monastery, and its construction began in 1535. It resembles a Gothic-Renaissance three-nave structure with a square tower. Beneath the presbytery was originally the Pernštejn crypt, which was looted by the Swedish army in 1645. The last major modification of the church took place between 1859 and 1867 when Count Vladimír Mitrovský had a neo-Gothic crypt built next to the church for the Mitrovský family and transferred the remains of his ancestors there. Today, it houses 19 cast iron sarcophagi.