Olomouc will start the renovation of the mausoleum of Yugoslav soldiers this year

Olomouc - This year, the Olomouc City Hall will start the reconstruction of the dilapidated mausoleum of Yugoslav soldiers in Bezruč Gardens after many years of discussions and preparations, to which no one has claimed ownership for years. The first phase of the repair, along with preparatory work, will cost approximately 7.4 million crowns and will be completed next year, City Mayor's Deputy Ladislav Šnevajs (KDU-ČSL) told reporters today.

According to Šnevajs, the city has received a four-million grant from the Ministry of Defense for the first part of the repair of the Yugoslav mausoleum, which is located close to the historical center of Olomouc. The city will invest 2.9 million crowns into the reconstruction and will contribute nearly half a million crowns to the preparation of the project.

The first step will be to remove moisture from the surrounding walls of the crypt, and the walls that line the terrace and outdoor stairs of the mausoleum will be repaired. The city has already announced a tender for this part of the reconstruction. "I expect that the repair will commence in the second half of the year," Šnevajs stated.

The dilapidated mausoleum contains the remains of nearly 1200 Yugoslav soldiers who died in the territories of Moravia and Silesia during World War I. The city can proceed with the repair of the neglected monument due to the fact that after two years of legal proceedings with the successor states of former Yugoslavia, the city has become its owner. The original owner of the mausoleum, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, formally ceased to exist in April 1945.

"The repair of the Yugoslav mausoleum is the largest, though by no means the only repair of memorials in the city of Olomouc. I believe that good care for the places of eternal rest of the deceased, whether they are our relatives or direct ancestors, or perhaps fallen soldiers of other nationalities, is a natural duty of a cultural person," Šnevajs pointed out.

The estimated total cost of reconstructing the mausoleum is 20 million crowns. The city intends to finance it with the help of grants from the Ministry of Defense and the Olomouc region. The second phase will focus on the repair of the above-ground part of the mausoleum, the roof, and the outer shell. In the future, the crypt is also expected to be repaired.

The mausoleum of Yugoslav soldiers is a monumental neoclassical building from 1926 designed by architect Hubert Aust. The mausoleum was built at the expense of the Czechoslovak-Yugoslav League to house the remains of 1188 Yugoslav soldiers who died in military hospitals in Olomouc during World War I. Later, the remains of soldiers from other parts of the country were also transferred to the mausoleum. Since 1958, the mausoleum has been registered as a cultural heritage site. Its current state has been affected by both vandalism and natural elements in the past.

In 2009, with the help of grants from the Ministry of Defense, the Olomouc City Hall repaired the graves of soldiers who fell during World War II at the cemetery in Olomouc-Neredin. With the assistance of grants, the military cemetery in Olomouc-Cernovíra, where the remains of victims of World War I lie, was also reconstructed.