The city of Havlíčkův Brod will take over the renovated St. Catherine's Church from the church free of charge

Havlíčkův Brod - The town of Havlíčkův Brod will accept the repaired church of Saint Catherine by the river without remuneration from the Roman Catholic Church. This was decided today by the city council. The repairs at the church need to be completed, but it doesn’t have to be immediate. The building is preserved, said Deputy Mayor Marie Rothbauerová (ODS).

The costs for basic repairs of the church so that it can be used are about ten million crowns. "Spread over time, maybe five to six years," said the deputy mayor.

Various cultural events could then take place in the church. "If we actually took over the church and subsequently repaired it in the coming years, it could become one of the other very interesting cultural places that people would enjoy visiting," said Mayor Zbyněk Stejskal (ODS) before the vote. He noted that the city has also been in discussions about cooperation with the Epigram association, which organized various events and a public fundraising campaign for the church's restoration.

Councilor Vladimír Frič from the opposition KSČM reminded that the town has already contributed to the repairs of the church, but believes that the financial resources needed to complete the repairs should be spent elsewhere. "That doesn't call into question that it is a cultural monument," he said regarding the church.

The local representatives of Havlíčkův Brod discussed the possible takeover of the church already in September of this year, but at that time, the city management did not present any proposal for a resolution. The mayor justified this by saying that the councilors should have enough time to think before making a decision.

The church is located behind the bridge near Sázava and has been deteriorating since the 1950s. Repairs began in 2018, and according to the September announcement from the deanery, they have already cost 8.4 million crowns. The Ministry of Culture contributed to the repairs from its emergency program, as did the city, the region, and the Epigram association. The parish itself donated 2.7 million crowns for the church's repairs.

The church was presumably founded as a mining church by the only bridge over Sázava at the time. Next to the church, there was a hospital behind the city walls. Over the centuries, the church has been damaged multiple times. Detailed history can be found on the parish's website.