A group of young Czechs and Germans is repairing the devastated church in Olešná

Olešná – Young Czechs and Germans are repairing the devastated Church of St. Anne in Olešná near the border with their own efforts. In 2019, it was purchased for a symbolic price by student and former member of the Czech-German Youth Forum Prokop Šícha, who organizes weekend work camps for its restoration. The first third of the roof has already been completed, and 50 trees around it have been cut down, along with 20 that were growing on the roof, Šícha told ČTK today. The Neo-Romanesque church has been deteriorating for decades and is in a state of emergency. Since 2010, it has been a cultural monument.

"From May 13 to 16, there were 20 of us here, mostly friends," he stated. Work camps are held every third weekend of the month. The one ending today was special because it was organized by the Czech-German Youth Forum. The group of young people wants to use the church for cultural and creative gatherings, as well as weddings. Last year, they organized eight cultural events there—plays and concerts.

The main focus is the roof repair, one third of which had completely collapsed. According to Šícha, it will cost between 2.5 to 3 million crowns. "Trees were growing on the roof, the oldest one was 38 years old," Šícha mentioned. Volunteers dismantled the remnants of the decayed truss and had to remove up to 1.2 meters of accumulated soil, collapsed trusses, and slate tiles from the vaults. These tons of material weighed down the vaults and retained moisture.

"To apply for funds, we needed a construction project. For that, we needed an architectural solution for the roof, which is a replica of the original, but you still need it. The first thing we built with a group of doctoral students was scaffolding according to YouTube, so we could measure the roof," Šícha explained. Then, the architect developed the project, and they obtained a building permit. Last year, the monument received the first 650,000 crowns from the Ministry of Culture for the roof, which more than 100 young people repaired one third of last year. "The rest is temporarily covered with tarps," Šícha said. They applied to the Plzeň Region for half a million crowns for the next phase, which is expected to decide next week, and for this year they got 200,000 crowns from the Czech-German Future Fund, which they will use as a share for subsidies. "Last year, our own contribution was covered by the municipality and partly by my and my friends’ funds," he indicated. In the summer, they will also seek subsidies from the Ministry of Culture for the preservation of architectural heritage.

"Originally, I really didn't want the church. I bought a house across the street and was dealing with its repair. I had an architect here, and he said that the church is an incredible building by a very good architect of its time, who designed churches in Prague and villas in Prague and Vienna. In such a small village, nothing would be built, but since it belonged to the Löwensteins, they could afford it," Šícha stated. He bought the church, which was not a parish church according to him, for a symbolic price. "It was owned by an Austrian who lives on an island in Thailand. It wasn't about the money at all, but it was almost impossible to get him for a verified signature," Šícha explained.

Around 35 inhabitants live in Olešná near the German border, and it belongs to the municipality of Stráž. "It is an absolutely magical place. It has a gift for attracting interesting people. For most of us, working on the church is a good balance to often demanding intellectual work. At the same time, last year, when travel was restricted, we felt good about making meaningful use of our free time," said camp participant Eva Müllerová.