The exact date for the completion of the repairs to the town hall tower in Znojmo is still uncertain

Znojmo - The repair of the Znojmo town hall tower is much more demanding than originally expected, which is why work will continue next year, marking the third construction season. The most challenging will be the repair of the walkway. It was initially anticipated that the work would be completed this autumn; however, the management of Znojmo is now speaking of next year, but no one, according to Deputy Mayor Bohumila Beranová (Znojmáci), dares to state an exact date. She stated this in a press release.

"During the previous work, we uncovered a much greater extent of damage to the tower's structure than we had originally thought. To ensure that the repair is truly precise, we have allocated funds in the budget for the second phase of the tower's reconstruction," said Beranová. Next year, a budget of 20 million crowns is planned. The original estimate was 30 million crowns. Next year, it will also be necessary to repair the lower walkway, including the last four small towers with domes, prepare the construction of a new exhibition, and repair the town hall clock.

During the project preparation, the structure of the walkway was only very limitedly accessible from the inside. "We only discovered the condition of the structure during the work when some of its parts, including the floors, were dismantled. The beams here are really severely damaged. We consult every step with experts and conservationists. After uncovering the structure of the lower towers, we also noticed visible subsidence of the elements that support them. To address this defect, it will be necessary to dismantle all four towers," described city architect Iveta Ludvíková.

Part of the tower's repair consisted primarily of repairing the roof structure and replacing the roof covering. No one has intervened in the complex structure of the roof for centuries. According to some experts, the tower from the 15th century may be the oldest known example of this type of monument. In most similar towers, the roof was removed or significantly altered during repairs.

The tower, under repair, was one of the most attractive tourist destinations in the city, with approximately 30,000 people climbing it each year. From the metal cladding that workers removed, the city had commemorative coins minted this year, a replica of the so-called Znojmo coin from the 15th century. In April, the city also placed four boxes containing documents and artifacts for future generations in the dome. This matter was accompanied by a dispute between the current city management and historian Jiří Kacetl, who is also an opposition politician for the Pro Znojmo movement. The reason was a text about modern history that Kacetl wrote, but a shorter text using Kacetl's original text was placed in the box without acknowledging him as the author. Kacetl stated that the inserted text is burdened with substantive-formal flaws.