NPÚ in Telč will teach more craftsmen to repair historic buildings

Telč (Jihlava region) - Preservationists in Telč will start teaching more craftsmen traditional and contemporary techniques used in the preservation of monuments from November. The courses will focus on masons, plasterers, stonemasons, painters and varnishers, carpenters, joiners, blacksmiths, roofers, and plumbers. Last year's pilot project involved 81 participants, and similar numbers are expected this year, said Martina Indrová, the director of the Telč branch of the National Heritage Institute (NPÚ) and the project's expert guarantor, to journalists today.
    "We see a huge gap between the ordinary craftsman and the specialist, whom we often unsuccessfully seek on that scaffolding," Indrová said. According to her, this is the first course of its kind in the Czech Republic. Currently, NPÚ has recorded about twenty applications, but they plan to start raising public awareness about the courses only this month and in October.
    For participants of the educational program "Craft Restoration of Historical Buildings," eight hands-on courses and one theoretical course will be prepared. Craftsmen, like last year, will spend 30 hours on theory in Telč and another 70 hours on practical instruction at heritage sites. Last year, they did most of the work on the dilapidated castle in Brtnice in the Jihlava region, where they, for example, repaired the entrance gate.
    "This year we want to spread it out a bit more," Indrová noted. In addition to Brtnice, course participants will also engage in the restoration of two other castles, in Červená Řečice and Uherčice. Work on the monuments is expected to take place mainly in March and April. Following last year's experiences, preservationists do not want to extend the courses into the main construction season, as craftsmen already have plenty of work on contracts during that time.