The Art Nouveau chapel is being renovated in the cemetery in Ústí nad Labem

Ústí nad Labem - The Art Nouveau chapel at the cemetery in the Ústí nad Labem district of Krásné Březno is being restored. In the more than one hundred-year-old building, which was threatened with demolition, the cemetery management will have its facilities. The work, estimated at around 3.6 million crowns, is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Alena Sejková from the Municipal Services of Ústí nad Labem informed ČTK.

The chapel, located in the middle of the cemetery, had been neglected for decades. In 2008, thanks to pressure from experts, demolition was prevented. In 2017, a project for its restoration was created, and work on the construction began last October.

The complete reconstruction includes repairing plasterwork, removing remnants of the original floors, creating a new base layer for the flooring including new waterproofing, laying new flooring that is supposed to mimic the original black-and-white tiles, installing new doors, and constructing social facilities for the cemetery manager. "A new complete electrical installation including lighting will be provided,” Sejková stated.

Scaffolding surrounds the building; stucco plasterwork, including original architectural features, will be repaired. New windows will be added, which will mimic the original ones with Gothic arches. Restored main entrance doors with decorative elements will also be installed, along with renovations to the entrance and back staircases. "Although the building is not under monument protection, the repairs are being carried out with great sensitivity to the historical value of the chapel," stated Martin Krsek, a historian from the city museum.

The reconstructed chapel will have facilities for the cemetery manager. "Originally, the main central room was intended only for gathering people in case of bad weather, but after consulting with historians, the main room will be adapted for possible exhibitions. There is also the possibility of collaboration with the Museum of the City of Ústí nad Labem regarding an exhibition related to significant individuals buried here, including their influence on the development of the city of Ústí nad Labem," Sejková stated. The chapel will also feature two smaller rooms that will temporarily be used as storage.

The chapel, with its rich facade and neo-Gothic elements, was built at the end of the 19th century. "It was sad that the building had deteriorated for decades and the cemetery management was based in construction huts behind the cemetery walls,” Krsek stated.

At the cemetery in Krásné Březno, there are tombs of significant Ústí industrialists, including the tomb of the Wolfrum family, which belonged to one of the most prominent entrepreneurial clans in Ústí. Metal collectors long ago stripped it of brass and iron elements, and it deteriorates just like the neo-Gothic chapel of the Köhler family. The majority of the tombs originate from the original German population. "These tombs have long been unmaintained and unpaid for. Such grave facilities are treated as abandoned property, and subsequently, these immovable properties (tombs) fall under the jurisdiction of the Office for Representation of the State in Property Matters,” Sejková stated. The Municipal Services ensure the necessary maintenance of the cemetery.