Students of architecture are building a Stations of the Cross in the abandoned village in the Bruntál region

Pelhřimovy (Bruntál) - Architecture students are building a modern Stations of the Cross next to the rescued Gothic Church of St. George, the only structure remaining from the abandoned village of Pelhřimovy in Bruntál. Their creations are the result of this year's workshop organized by the Faculty of Architecture of the Brno University of Technology. Ivo Dokoupil from the Hnutí Duha Jeseníky (Movement for the Rainbow Jeseníky) said this on behalf of the organizers. The movement acquired the dilapidated church years ago and is now trying to save it.

Architecture students regularly return to Pelhřimovy. In previous years, for example, they built shelters in the territory of the abandoned village where interested parties could stay overnight. "This year's theme of the student summer school is prayer to the landscape. Away from civilization's hustle, students are given space in their designs to reflect on individual spirituality and life attitudes, which they will then transform into a concrete realization," said one of the workshop instructors, architect Tomáš Madro.

The future architects have wooden boards at their disposal to create from. As of July 1, there are 13 of them on-site, each tasked with building one station. However, they must first create a model that the instructors must approve for actual realization. The Stations of the Cross will remain on-site as an addition to the church complex. Work on the rescue of the church itself will continue in August when the movement will hold its traditional camp on-site. Floors inside the church and exterior plastering will be completed.

The Hnutí Duha Jeseníky acquired the church in 2005, which is the only remaining building from the abandoned village of Pelhřimovy. Rescue work, however, began as early as 2002. The 13th-century monument already has a new roof and ceilings. In part of the building, a painting from 1420 has been uncovered and restored.

The village of Moravské Pelhřimovy was dissolved in the early 1950s. After the communist coup in 1948, state officials feared an intervention by the Polish army. Therefore, they decided to depopulate the nearest surrounding area of the state border. In Pelhřimovy, 66 houses were razed to the ground. Only the church remained. By that time, the village was already without inhabitants. The original German settlers left after the war during the expulsion of German residents.