Liberec heritage protectors have published an elaborate publication about the monuments of the region

Liberec - The National Heritage Institute in Liberec presented today an extensive publication titled "Register of Immovable Cultural Monuments," which maps valuable buildings and small architecture in the Liberec Region. The illustrated publication is the first comprehensive overview of monuments in the region that has ever been published, said the director of the Liberec NPÚ, Miloš Kadlec, to journalists today.
    The large book is the first in a series. There will likely be a total of six, possibly even seven, because the authors had to divide Liberec into two volumes, and Českolipsko will also likely need to be divided due to the number of monuments.
    Although the title may seem somewhat austere and give the impression of an academic publication, the book will interest not only experts but also the general public. The book is filled with maps and photographs, and each monument is accompanied by a short text describing its history and present day. The first volume focuses on Liberec and maps immovable monuments and small architecture from Albrechtice near Frýdlant to Letařovice in the Liberec region. "It has been in the works since 2007 and represents monuments from 65 parts of municipalities," said co-author Petra Šternová.
    The basis for the series was a list of monuments that has been compiled in recent years across the entire region to show their current condition. "Sometimes it is sad to see the condition of some monuments today," Šternová noted. Heritage experts discovered, for example, that from the wayside shrine in Krásný Les only the foundation stone remains, while they managed to find the statue of St. John of Nepomuk in Jítravá, which was so overgrown with wild shrubbery that they could not find it in previous surveys and considered it lost.
    The National Heritage Institute records 2,246 immovable cultural monuments in the Liberec Region, 35 of which are on the list of the most endangered. The registry of monuments has been maintained since 1958, and according to it, most valuable objects are in the Českolipsko area, where currently 780 are recorded by heritage experts, while in Liberec there are 593. The Semilsko area is also rich in monuments with 514 objects, while Jablonecko is apparently the most deprived of historical landmarks, with only 359 monuments recorded by the NPÚ.
    The new publication was released in an edition of 2,000 copies, funded in part by the towns and municipalities of the region and the Liberec Region itself. A quarter of the edition was reserved for the heritage institute, and the remaining 1,500 copies will go into the book distribution network. "Originally, the book was intended only for internal needs of the heritage institute. I am pleased that it was possible to publish it in such a quantity that it will also be available for sale," said Květa Vinklátová, director of Liberec's Nakladatelství 555, which published the book, to ČTK today. According to her, the book should appear on store shelves in early June. "It will be sold for 590 crowns," Vinklátová added.