In Jihlava, roof repairs of St. James’ Church will begin in the spring

photo: Suchac.fa.da2, Wikipedia.org

Jihlava - The Premonstratensians in Jihlava will begin repairs on the Church of St. James the Greater this spring, which is a national cultural monument. The demanding reconstruction of the roof with a Gothic truss dating back to 1539 will take two years. In addition to repairs of damaged wooden parts, it will also include the replacement of glazed roofing tiles. Today, Norbert Dostál from the Royal Canonry of the Premonstratensians in Strahov, which manages the monument, said this to ČTK.

"The expectation is that we would start the repair at the beginning of May and finish in April 2019," said Dostál, who heads the investment department of the royal canonry. The project to repair the roof of the church was prepared more than ten years ago. The commencement of work worth 26.8 million crowns is made possible by this year's promise of funding from the European IROP program.

After the repairs are completed, the church's truss will be accessible to the public with a guide. Currently, tours are not possible for safety reasons. "The truss is unique, and you can see excellent carpentry work on it," said Dostál. The ridge of the truss measures 21 meters. "You feel like you are in the mainmast of a ship," he noted.

The roof of the church looks fine from the outside, but according to Dostál, the situation is different when looking at its truss. Wind blows snow and rain in there, and the wood is damaged by rot in some places. Due to later renovations, there are structural issues between the towers that need reinforcement of the truss. Damaged wooden parts will be replaced by carpenters in a way that preserves as much as possible of the original hand-hewn beams. Dostál pointed out that many previous repairs of the truss were done unprofessionally, even using steel. "New elements will be connected using so-called all-wood joints, without the use of metal. It is very demanding carpentry work," he stated.

The roofing has been changed several times on the church roof. The current kiln-baked tiles with glazing are from 1904. They will be replaced with new glazed tiles that will again be arranged in patterns, so the appearance of the roof will not change significantly.

The construction of the temple dates back to the time after the establishment of the royal mining town of Jihlava. The Gothic church was consecrated in 1257. It was dedicated to St. James, the patron of miners. In a major fire in the town in 1523, the church burned down, and its repairs lasted for 40 years. It was declared a national cultural monument in 2008.