Vysočina last year contributed to the restoration of more than 175 monuments

Castle in Úsobí

Jihlava - Hundreds of heritage sites in the Vysočina region have changed their appearance in recent years. Churches, chapels, and townhouses have been renovated, as well as wooden buildings, statues, and fountains. Last year alone, the region contributed to more than 175 heritage restoration projects according to online information. Among them were also eight castles and three fortresses, into which the region, municipalities, and other owners jointly invested nearly five million crowns.
        The dominant feature of Stránecká Zhoř, located in the Žďár region, was for decades a semi-ruined castle. In 1999, the Order of Knights of Christ started the rescue of this very valuable building from the 16th century. Last year, the region contributed a quarter of a million crowns to the owner for the restoration of the carpentry elements in the interior of the building.
The demanding hobby has captivated Jaromír Polák, the owner of a small engineering company in the Havlíčkův Brod area. With his sons, he has been restoring the castle in Úsobí for ten years. No one was beginning to believe in its rescue, but it now occasionally hosts concerts, theater performances, and exhibitions. Last year, the region contributed 130,000 crowns to the owner for the restoration of the building's facade.

Castle in Police

       For 15 years, the small municipality of Police in the Třebíč region, where fewer than four hundred residents live, has been financing repairs to the local castle from its modest budget. Three years ago, the municipality opened a museum exhibition in the castle with a five-story prism tower, which was visited by 1,500 people last year in the southern part of the region. Since 2004, the restoration of the roof structure and roofing of the building has been ongoing, with the region contributing a small amount last year, proportionate to the owner's subsidy. The municipality also obtained funding for a building-historical survey of the area and needs to ensure the stability of the western wing.
        In Hrotovice in the Třebíč region, where the castle from the early 18th century belongs to the municipality, the region supported the second phase of the dehumidification of the inner courtyard. Efforts were also made in the Baroque castle in Chotěboř in the Havlíčkův Brod area. It gained its present appearance at the beginning of the 18th century when the Chotěboř estate was owned by Count Vilém Leopold Kinský of Wchynic and Tetova. Since 1952, the castle has been the seat of the Municipal Museum, which took over the management of the site and made at least necessary repairs. These repairs are now continuing with the Dobrzen family, to whom the castle was returned in restitution in 1992.

Castle in Myslibořice

        At the castle in Myslibořice in the Třebíč region, where employees of the diaconate of the Czech Brethren Evangelical Church care for seniors, it was possible, with the region's contribution, to repair the balcony on the façade of the castle and the building's plinth. The restoration of the castle in Velké Meziříčí in the Žďár region began shortly after it was returned to the Podstatzky-Lichtenstein family in 1995. It has new roofs, facades, and windows, and last year the region contributed to the restoration of murals in one of the representative rooms of the castle.
        In the Vysočina region, 85 castles and 48 fortresses, or rather ruins, are protected as heritage sites.