In Mariánská Týnice, the ambitus will be completed according to the original plans

Mariánská Týnice - An unusual project for the completion of a baroque complex began today in Mariánská Týnice in northern Plzeň. The Plzeň region, which operates the local Museum of Northern Plzeň, will complete the eastern cloister and chapel for 50 million crowns in just under three years, thanks to a grant from the Integrated Regional Operational Program, just as the baroque builder of the complex, Jan Blažej Santini, planned 300 years ago.

Santini's original plans included the entire complex having four parts - a church, two symmetrical cloisters with eight corner chapels, and a provost's house. However, the eastern cloister was never completed. It consists of the Chapel of the Sacrifice of the Lord and St. Alberich, which was completed about five years ago on baroque ruins. In addition to the cloister, corner chapels of the Visitation of the Lord and St. Humbelina, the Chapel of the Resurrection of the Lord and St. Luitgarde, and the Chapel of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Amadeus will also be completed. According to Santini's ideal concept, the pilgrimage site of Mariánská Týnice was meant to have seven chapels dedicated to the seven joys of the Virgin Mary and an eighth chapel for the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

Emeritus Bishop František Radkovský symbolically blessed three cornerstone stones of the future Marian chapels in the pilgrimage church today, ahead of the Saturday feast of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary.

"Mariánská Týnice as an architectural solitaire is, thanks to Santini's project, a prominent baroque monument of the Plzeň region. The last step to complete the reconstruction is to close the entire complex with the proposed eastern cloister," said the museum director Irena Bukačová. The entire area will logically close, which will help from both an aesthetic and safety perspective. The eastern cloister will connect to the Chapel of the Sacrifice of the Lord and will link the existing parts of the already enclosed land. "The overall concept of restoring Santini's project will be a unique example of the integrity of the baroque complex, its meaningful and heritage-valuable unique restoration, which has no equivalent in the Czech lands," Bukačová added. The completion is expected to be finished in 2019.

Mariánská Týnice near Kralovice, about 35 kilometers north of Plzeň, was built by the Plasy monastery between 1711 and 1768. Since the monastery's dissolution in 1785, the complex found no use and gradually fell into ruin, and by the early 20th century, it was nearly a ruin. In 1920, the dome of the church collapsed. The construction was saved by the establishment of a museum in the provost's house in 1952. A major heritage restoration began in 1993. Since then, around 40 million crowns have been spent on the reconstruction of the dome, towers, roofs, chapels, cloister, decorations, and exterior.