In Doubravník, the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross is being repaired for 60 million

photo: Paveln4, Wikimedia Commons

Doubravník – The complete renovation of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Doubravník, in the Brno region, will take three years, having begun in the last weeks of the previous year. The reconstruction, which includes repairs to the exterior and interior of the church, will cost 60 million crowns. The construction is being funded by the Roman Catholic parish of Doubravník, which has managed to obtain a grant of 58 million crowns from the operational program for the protection of cultural heritage.

"The project focuses primarily on emergency conditions and is divided into construction and restoration parts. The construction part includes all construction activities and restoration work closely related to the building: necessary static stabilization, complete restoration of the tower roof, restoration of the tower staircase, restoration of some elements of the truss in the nave, restoration of external marble elements, or restoration of the external Renaissance plaster of the church," summarized the mayor of Doubravník, Barbora Šenkyříková, who leads the project for the parish.

The church will also have new electrical installations, new interior lighting, sound system, electronic security, and fire prevention system.

The restoration part of the work includes restoring the church benches and the Mitrovský family tomb, artificial marble of the lower parts of the altars, as well as bells or cast iron covers of the sarcophagi in the Mitrovský tomb.

"The total costs of the project are expected to reach 61 million crowns, of which 58 million is a grant, and three million crowns is the parish's mandatory co-financing. Additional ineligible costs are expected to be around 2.5 million crowns, also from parish funds. It is anticipated that the parish will repay the loan over 20 years," added Šenkyříková. The repairs are expected to be completed by the middle of 2023.

The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Doubravník stands on the site of the original church of the extinct Augustinian monastery, and its construction began in 1535. It features a Gothic-Renaissance triple nave with a square tower; originally, there was a Pernštejn tomb under the presbytery, which was plundered by the Swedish army in 1645. The last major alteration of the church took place between 1859 and 1867, when Count Vladimír Mitrovský commissioned the construction of a Neo-Gothic tomb for the Mitrovský family and had the remains of his ancestors transferred there. Today, it contains 19 cast iron sarcophagi.