At Zelená hora in Žďár n. S., the repairs of the church are coming to an end, and the parish will begin to repair the cloister

Žďár nad Sázavou – The repairs of the Church of St. John of Nepomuk at Zelená hora in Žďár nad Sázavou will be completed in the autumn at a cost of more than 40 million crowns. Experts are finishing the restoration of the sculptural, stucco decoration, and paving in the interior, said the coordinator of the repairs, František Laštovička, to ČTK today. Work on the restoration of the cloister surrounding the church is also expected to begin in the autumn months. The parish has also received a subsidy from the European IROP program for this. The pilgrimage site, a work by architect Jan Blažej Santini-Aichl, is a UNESCO heritage site.

The parish began the restoration of the church in the spring of 2018. "Contractual relationships with suppliers are secured until the end of September this year," Laštovička stated. He noted that the project was complicated by anti-epidemic measures. According to him, the estimated investment in the restoration of the cloister will exceed 100 million crowns.

The church has a restored facade and its windows. The area of the former cemetery between the church and the cloister has taken the form of a pilgrimage meadow, with green grass already growing there. The most complex task addressed during the restoration process, according to Laštovička, was returning the church floor to its original appearance. The entire area will again feature a multicolored paving of various shapes arranged in geometric patterns, which was partially replaced in the past with marble pieces.

"The production of the paving was done entirely by hand in a small factory environment. Square, pentagonal, and elongated rhomboid tiles were made in shades of brick, ochre, and black," Laštovička mentioned. More than 2,000 tiles will be needed. He added that not only the production of the tiles was challenging, but also their theoretical and practical preparation.

The church was consecrated in 1722. The flourishing period of the pilgrimage site was interrupted by a fire in 1784. The then administration allowed repairs on the condition that the church would serve as a burial site and have a cemetery. The cemetery was abolished in the 1990s as a result of the site being inscribed on the UNESCO list.

The Roman Catholic parish has managed Zelená hora since 2014. "The restoration of the pilgrimage church has been ongoing essentially since it was taken over. A relatively significant investment, for example, was the restoration of the ceiling structure in the first gallery of the church from 2015 to 2017," Laštovička added.

Guided tours are available at Zelená hora even during the repairs. "Because work is still underway in the main nave of the church, tours are held in both levels of the galleries," said Father Vladimír Vojtěch Záleský. Tours have been possible throughout the year in recent years. In the winter period, it is necessary to make an appointment.