The Santini Monastery Church in Želiv will be closed due to renovations

photo: santini.cz

Želiv (Pelhřimovsko) - The Želiv Monastery Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary will be closed until nearly the end of the year due to extensive renovations. Craftsmen began work there after Easter. The construction work will affect both the interior and the exterior plaster. The church's furnishings will be moved to the restorer's workshops, and the organ will also be restored, said Jakub Jan Med, the acting provost of the Premonstratensians, to ČTK today. The monastery, including the church, is a national cultural monument.
    The monastery church was last renovated with the participation of architect Jan Blažej Santini, about three hundred years ago, in a style of Gothic-like baroque. The church will remain closed throughout the renovations because the equipment, including the pews, will be removed. The main altar will also undergo restoration. "Only on exceptional occasions would we attempt to reopen the church," Med stated. Public masses are currently held by the Premonstratensians in the cloister of the monastery.
    The costs of the current repairs, according to the results of tenders published online, will exceed 31 million crowns; the canonry has obtained a grant from the Integrated Operational Program for this purpose.
    The most expensive will be the restoration of the furnishings. Most of the free-standing sculptures and elements from the altars will gradually be moved to the restorer's workshops. The choir organs and the main organ will also be restored, which should be returned to their baroque form, including their sound. Many elements of these organs are now damaged or destroyed. The builders will repair the ceiling and take care of the painting of the church, as well as the external plaster of the Želiv church.
    In the future, according to the provost, the church roof will also need repair, as its covering is slowly reaching the end of its life. However, the roofs of the adjacent convent building are in worse condition. "We need to tackle those roofs as soon as possible," he stated.
    The ancient Želiv Monastery has a turbulent history. In 1950, the communists established an internment camp for priests and religious there. From 1957 to 1992, it housed a psychiatric hospital. The Premonstratensians returned in the early 90s and have been gradually restoring the premises. Repairs to the cloister were completed two years ago. The monastery has been a national cultural monument since 2010.