More than two years after the fire, the Temple of St. Archangel Michael in the Kinsky Garden in Prague 5 will be restored. Over 1.9 million CZK has been collected publicly for its reconstruction.
The public collection lasted for one year
The entire revenue of 1,904,454 CZK will be used to furnish the new church’s interior. According to estimates from the City of Prague press release, the construction will cost about 30 to 40 million CZK. However, the final price has not yet been determined.
“It is doubly good news. Firstly, the historically valuable St. Archangel Michael’s Church, destroyed by fire two and a half years ago, should rise from the ashes and be restored. Secondly, the public collection managed to raise almost two million CZK, which will help equip the interior of the newly built church. I look forward to the day when it will be a decoration of the Kinsky Garden again,” said Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda (ODS).
Donors did not stop even during the coronavirus pandemic
The so-called Carpathian little church burned down in October 2020 during the coronavirus crisis. However, even that did not stop generous donors.
“The collected almost two million CZK demonstrates how much people care about the restoration of this unique sacred monument, which is valuable for its architecture and place of origin. I sincerely appreciate every single donor. Thanks to their generous contributions, Prague can finally start rebuilding St. Archangel Michael’s Church after almost three years since the fire. They deserve endless gratitude,” thanked Jiří Pospíšil (TOP 09), Deputy Mayor for Culture, Tourism, and Heritage Conservation.
Construction will start next year
The steps for obtaining a building permit for the renovation of the building are in progress. The City Hall should receive it in May. The preparation for the selection of the contractor also continues.
However, the construction can only start next year. The reason is carpentry procedures that require trees to be cut down for the construction of the temple in winter when they have less sap and are easier to work with.
Made entirely of wood and with a 17-meter-high spire, The Temple of St. Archangel Michael, also known as the Carpathian St. Michael’s Little Church, was a wooden Orthodox church from the second half of the 17th century.
According to information from the prague.eu website had three onion domes, the tallest of which measured 17 meters. It was a built-in so-called Boyko architectural style with elements of folk Baroque.
Initially, it was a Greek Catholic church, but it is now designated as Orthodox due to the historic merger of the Greek Catholic Church with the Orthodox Church. It was part of the collections of the National Museum’s ethnographic department in Prague.
The fire destroyed this unique monument, which has significant cultural and historical value, and the reconstruction will help restore it to its former glory.