At Santiniho Dolní Cemetery, the parish will restore the central statue of the angel

Žďár nad Sázavou – At the baroque Lower Cemetery in Žďár nad Sázavou, which is near the former monastery, the parish will this year restore the tall central statue of the Angel of the Last Judgment. Restorers will work on-site; the visiting hours of the cemetery will not be affected, said Jitka Klementová, a technician in construction investments from the Žďár deanery, in response to a query from ČTK. Repairs to the cemetery were completed last year.

Since 2022, all four oval chapels in the cemetery and the enclosing walls have been gradually restored. This year, the preservationists from the Telč office nominated the Žďár Roman Catholic parish for the Patrimonium pro futuro award from the National Heritage Institute in the category of Monument Restoration.

According to the heritage catalog, the statue of the angel was created around 1720, and the author was presumably the sculptor Gregor Thény. The statue itself measures 235 centimeters and is placed on a base and pedestal with a total height of over three meters. The monument was last restored in 2001. In addition to the angel, the pedestal beneath it will also be restored. For this year’s work, which includes a coating for the shingle roofs, the parish will pay a total of 465,000 crowns. The region will contribute 185,000 crowns, and the city will add 125,000 crowns.

The construction of the cemetery was commissioned by Abbot Václav Vejmluva to architect Jan Blažej Santini when the city was threatened by a plague epidemic. It was consecrated in 1709. It began to serve its purpose later, as the city was ultimately spared from the plague. Originally, the cemetery had a triangular layout and three chapels. A fourth chapel was added in 1755. The Cistercian monastery was later dissolved and began to serve as a noble residence.

During the summer, the Lower Cemetery is accessible daily from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM.

This year, with the help of grants, the parish will also restore two portals at the rectory. It will complete a four-year restoration of the benches in the main nave of the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary at the castle, for which it will spend 1.2 million crowns. The restoration of various elements and maintenance work at the pilgrimage site of Zelená Hora, a UNESCO monument, will cost approximately one million crowns. The region and the city will also contribute to these projects for the parish.