The reconstruction of the Rotunda of the Holy Cross in Prague will be completed in May 2022
Preparatory work for the reconstruction of the listed building began in September. The reconstruction should be completed by the end of May next year. A spokesman for the Prague City Hall, Vít Hofman, told ČTK today in a press release.
“The capital is gradually continuing to restore its often neglected property. In the case of the listed rotunda of the Holy Cross, however, we are particularly sensitive as a great respect. This inconspicuous gem needs due care so that it can stand in the very center of the city for centuries to come, “said Jan Chabr (TOP 09), the councilor of the capital for property.
Employees of the Gema Art Group, which won a public contract announced by the Prague City Hall in August, will replace the existing thatched roof covering with a new one. The roof will be placed on a wooden supporting structure under the supervision of the restorer. The builders were also removed from the ceiling vaults and parts of the plaster inside the rotunda. The stucco, stone elements of the main cornice and glazing at the top of the dome of the main nave of the rotunda will also be restored. According to the contract between Prague and Gema Art Group from August, the construction work should cost approximately 5.6 million crowns, as ČTK found out from the register of contracts.
The rotunda in Prague 1 was built after 1125. In the 17th century, the building belonged to the Dominicans. The church reforms of Joseph II. the sanctuary was abolished and used as a warehouse. In the 19th century, it bought the rotunda from the private owner of the city because the building was in danger of being demolished. The association of Czech writers, artists and musicians Umělecká beseda was responsible for saving the building at that time. The initiators of the rescue of the rotunda were the founders of the magazine Lumír Ferdinand Břetislav Mikovec and the painter Josef Mánes. The rotunda is currently used by the Old Catholic Church in the Czech Republic. The building belongs to the three preserved rotundas in the territory of Prague together with the rotunda of St. Longinus in the New Town and the rotunda of St. Martin in Vyšehrad.