The reconstruction of the burned-down St. Michael's Church in Smíchov will cost between 30 and 40 million CZK.

Prague – The reconstruction of the burned-out St. Michael's Church in Prague's Smíchov district will cost between 30 and 40 million crowns. The Magistrate will soon announce a public tender for the contractor. Traditional methods and crafts will be used in the restoration of the monument. A detailed work plan is to be presented by the end of this year. This was stated to reporters today by Deputy Mayor Jiří Pospíšil (TOP 09). The 17th-century church burned down on October 28, 2020. The police did not identify the perpetrator of the fire and the case has thus been shelved.

"We have a finalized conceptual plan on how to restore the church, we have binding opinions from the preservationists. We will soon be announcing a selection procedure for the contractor and we want the entire project to get underway," said Pospíšil.

The city’s goal is to restore the entire structure using traditional crafts. "Including the fact that the trees for this church are to be felled in a special way," Pospíšil added. When exactly the repair of the church will be completed is unclear according to him due to the chosen procedure. The restoration process and work will pay tribute to the Ukrainian people and their skills. The building did not burn down completely, and during the restoration, the damaged parts will be removed and replaced.

The church was thoroughly documented before the fire. "A technical and historical survey has now been conducted, and based on that, the project documentation for the building permit has been developed," said Adam Scheinherr (Praha Sobě), the former deputy mayor responsible for heritage care until the February elections of this year.

A public collection was held for the restoration of the church. People contributed approximately 1.9 million crowns to it. "The amount will be used mainly for the restoration of the church's interior," Pospíšil said.

The Orthodox St. Michael's Church, sometimes referred to as the Carpathian church, originally stood in the village of Velké Loučky near Mukachevo in Ukraine. It was dismantled, transported, and rebuilt in Prague in 1929 from the then Subcarpathian Ruthenia, which was part of Czechoslovakia between the world wars, to become part of the collections of the Ethnographic Museum.