In Ostrava, the Cathedral of the Divine Savior was opened today after repairs

Ostrava - After more than a year, today people could attend a service at the Cathedral of the Divine Savior in Ostrava, which was opened after a major reconstruction. The most significant church of the Ostrava-Opava Diocese was filled with worshippers, many of whom viewed the sanctuary with emotion. The renovation of the cathedral, including the interior furnishings, cost 68 million crowns. Besides some modern elements, a fundamental change is the new color scheme of the facade in beige shades, said architect and designer Tomáš Šonovský, as reported by ČTK.

"The color of the entire building has fundamentally changed on the outside. The exterior plaster, which was once red, is now in beige colors. The decision on how to color it was made after detailed surveys were conducted, peeling away the individual layers to find the original color layers," Šonovský stated. However, the results of the surveys did not provide a completely convincing outcome, so similar buildings around the world were also studied. Šonovský then prepared several color variants, which were tested directly on the facade, and the final combination was selected from about 15 samples.

Another interesting feature is the church's flooring, which is an exact replica of the original. The tiles, which are no longer in use, measuring 16 by 16 centimeters, had to be custom-made. Their installation was very demanding. "We had to map everything, take photographs, redraw it. Moreover, the church is not ideally level, so we had to find a system to connect everything," Šonovský remarked.

The church also has several modern elements - glass side vestibules and new energy-efficient lighting. An atypical feature is the filling of six windows, which have transparent displays inserted that are meant to replace traditional stained glass. The motifs displayed in the windows can be changed thanks to modern technology. "To this extent, this has not yet been realized anywhere, so it is a certain experiment," Šonovský noted.

The final appearance of the renovations was praised by the Ostrava-Opava bishop, František Václav Lobkowicz, who led the service today. "I am very glad that it turned out this way. The cathedral is always the first church in the diocese. Wherever one looks, one finds renovated chapels and churches, and it would be almost disgraceful if the cathedral were somehow left behind," Lobkowicz said.

Positive feedback also came from the faithful. "I admire it; it's beautiful. I was waiting for this for over a year while I attended another church," said one participant of the service to ČTK.

The restoration of the cathedral is financed from European Union funds, financial compensations for unreturned church property, and the parish's own resources in Moravská Ostrava. The proceeds from a collection during the second Easter Sunday were dedicated to the repairs. The parish also announced a public collection. Pastor Jan Plaček greatly values the donations from the faithful. He recalls, for example, a woman who was dying in a hospice, and although she knew she would not live to see the cathedral's opening, she called the pastor and gave him money for the repairs.

The pastor also experienced amusing stories during the church's renovation. For instance, when the police woke him at night, claiming there were thieves on the church. It turned out that two young men returning from a night outing had bet on who would climb the church scaffolding faster. "One of the boys even knew me because he attended religious education, so he greeted me with 'Praise be to Christ,' and the police were a bit unsure how to act. In the end, we were all glad that no one got hurt," Plaček recalled.

The cathedral will be open to the public, in addition to regular daily services, every Tuesday to Saturday from 08:15 to 12:15 and from 13:15 to 17:15.