Rehabilitation of St. Ignatius Church in Jihlava and its Opening to the Public

About this project

<p style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><strong>The project deals with the renewal of the rarely authentic early Baroque Church of St. Ignatius in Jihlava. This important cultural monument is in a state of disrepair, the building is leaking, and degraded layers of plaster might collapse onto the pavement and thus endanger the safety of people present in the central Masaryk Square where the church is located. </strong></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">As part of the revitalization, the roof will be repaired and facades, including sculptures, will be restored. The repaired roof will prevent further damage to valuable ceiling paintings in the interior and precious furnishings. By carrying out the project, the owner will secure the physical preservation of an extraordinarily valuable cultural monument and secure its further use for religious, tourist, educational and cultural-social purposes. There will be an increase in the number of religious services and there will be organized tourist tours in the church, enhanced by a new mobile application which will acquaint visitors with the architectural-historical development of the church and the history of the town and the Premonstratensian order administrating the church since 17th century. </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: justify"><span style="font-size: 12px"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Concerts are held regularly in this church with excellent acoustics. Thanks to cooperation with the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival and the regional museum (Muzeum Vysočiny), its cultural offer will be greatly expanded. The frequently visited film festival will use the place for its accompanying program. A permanent exhibition “Vanished Jihlava” will be installed in the gallery space (first floor) of the church. Partnership is an integral and important part of the project. The Icelandic partner is the Catholic Church in Iceland which will participate in the project of the restoration of the Church of St. Ignatius together with the Jihlava St. James’s (“Jakub” in Czech) Roman Catholic parish through active participation in the program content (exhibition “Iceland – In the Footsteps of Missionaries”).</span></span></p>

Bilateral cooperation results

The bilateral partnership of the project was based on cooperation in the preparation of the thematic exhibition "Iceland - following the footsteps of missionaries". During the preparation several mutual visits between partners and beneficiaries took place, which led to the strengthening of friendly and professional ties. For the wider public, the most beneficial were the meetings with the Bishop of the Icelandic Catholic Church, David Tencer, who presented a major spiritual differences between the Czech and Icelandic people, which led to a better understanding of cultural differences.

Project partners

• The Catholic Church in Iceland Donor project partner· Iceland
• Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival Project partner· Czechia
• Vysočina Museum, Jihlava Project partner· Czechia
• Campanula Choir Project partner· Czechia