In Olomouc, the foundations of the Romanesque house were moved for nine hours

Olomouc - A total of nine hours was spent today in Olomouc on the relocation of the foundations of the region's oldest secular building - a Romanesque house, whose history dates back to before the 13th century. Builders transported the masonry, weighing approximately 63 tons, a few dozens of meters further on the trailer of a freight truck, so it would not obstruct the construction of a canal. Although the entire operation was originally planned to take five hours, it was extended due to the muddy terrain.
"We had to prepare the path and support the masonry. As we were pulling it onto the path, the driver stopped and the truck got stuck in the muddy surface. We had to help pull the truck with the load out with other machinery, and we also propped it up with concrete slabs," said the site manager Ladislav Mokrý to ČTK. According to him, the operation was challenging, especially due to the high weight of the load and the fact that it is a cultural heritage site.
"You can't just grab it with a rope. The weather and the soft ground did not allow us to finish in the planned time. Originally, we had a heavy crane here, but they were afraid to lift the heritage so that it wouldn't break," he added.
The challenging relocation awaited the heritage site for the second time. Archaeologists discovered the foundations of the secular house dated before the 13th century during an investigation related to the planned construction of the Olomouc Prior. In January 1974, the building was lifted onto a hydraulic flatbed after undercutting and supporting it with a reinforced concrete slab and relocated to the construction yard of the then District Center for State Heritage Care and Nature Protection. Today, it was only moved within the heritage site’s premises.
"The National Heritage Institute showed us how it was done back then. Now we used practically the same principle," Mokrý explained.
According to Pavel Konečný, the director of the Olomouc branch of the National Heritage Institute, this is an exceptionally significant cultural monument and the oldest evidence of a masonry non-church structure in the territory of Olomouc. The foundations of the building, measuring 500 by 590 centimeters, with a height of approximately 145 centimeters and a wall thickness of 70 centimeters, will be protected from the elements by a new wooden structure.
"We also considered relocating the cultural monument to a place where it would be accessible to the public. However, that would require high financial costs. Therefore, it will remain in our storage for now," Konečný stated.