In South Bohemia, there are 13 new cultural monuments, cemeteries, and a memorial

České Budějovice - The Ministry of Culture declared 13 objects in South Bohemia as new cultural monuments from last September to this March. Among them are Jewish cemeteries in Rožmberk nad Vltavou, Český Krumlov, Nová Bystřice, Třeboň, Protivín, and Prudice near Nemyšl. The status of a cultural monument gives them a better chance of obtaining funds for restoration from grants and guarantees the owner free assistance from conservationists. This was announced today in a press release by Kateřina Voleská from the National Heritage Institute.

The courtyard Branovice in Dobšice near Týn nad Vltavou, the church in České Velenice, the farmstead in Sedlice, the monument to the fallen at the military cemetery in Písek, and the stone footbridge in Pěčín also became cultural monuments. Two buildings belonging to already designated cultural monuments also received this status: the barn in Klečaty in the Tabor region and the agricultural buildings in the area of the rectory in Strunkovice nad Blanicí.

There are now 5,433 immovable cultural monuments in the South Bohemian Region. Folk architecture is slightly predominant, while small ecclesiastical architecture and urban houses are also well represented. This was stated today by Jana Štorková from the National Heritage Institute in České Budějovice.

The declaration of six Jewish cemeteries as cultural monuments concluded more than a year of documentation. Now all 48 preserved Jewish cemeteries in the region are cultural monuments. "For the newly declared Jewish cemeteries, we have additionally documented all existing gravestones in detail, including inscriptions. Often, this is the only source to learn about the vanished Jewish communities," Štorková stated. Historian Blanka Rozkošná, who focuses on Jewish monuments and the culture of Jews in the Czech Republic, participated in the work on the cemeteries.

The city of České Velenice has its very first cultural monument. It is the Church of St. Agnes of Bohemia, built in 1935 according to the design of Prague architect Václav Pilc. "České Velenice is a relatively young city, having been founded only in 1920 through the merger of three municipalities," noted conservator Jakub Drozda. He added that the church is a valuable and preserved example of interwar architecture, complemented by an English park.