Revitalization of the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Konojedy near Úštěk
The aim of the project is to conserve and open the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Konojedy near Úštěk, including the movable cultural monuments located there: seven altars, pulpit, and a set of oak pews. Since August 2012, the church has been closed to the public on the recommendation of a structural engineer and construction work is underway. The conservation of the church consists in its overall restoration and includes static securing, façade repair, interior renovation, roof truss repair and replacement of roofing, restoration of some parts of the floors, and relocation of existing roofing over the ship and presbytery.
The project has two partners, Norwegian and Czech. Cultural Heritage Documentation and Digitization Centre, a specialized department of the Department of History, Faculty of Arts, Jan Evangelista Purkyně University in Ústí nad Labem, is a Czech partner. It ensures the didactic content of the project and, under the guidance of professional staff of the National Heritage Institute ÚOP in Ústí n. L., also participates in the implementation of its professional content. This concerned mainly the identification, inventory, and documentation of artifacts of heritage interest. During the implementation phase of the project, students under the guidance of teachers of the Centre performed sampling for dendrochronological analysis of selected wooden elements as well as sampling for colour examination of plaster and paint in the church interior. Subsequently, the students prepared findings reports, which were used mainly by restorers. The results of the research and analysis of the interior colour of the church became the basis for determining the final colour of its painting; scans of stucco coats of arms of the oratories serve to determine the procedure of their completion and reconstruction. Dendrochronological analyses of timber structures helped to specify and date individual building stages in the building.
Students participated in the process of digitization of the current state of the altar and other decorative elements of interior furnishings. They learned modern 3D documentation procedures that create scans that can be used to present documented objects.
All the procedures and student works were used, in pursuance of project implementation, in subjects and seminars of the bachelor's study of the Documentation of Heritage and the master's study in the field of Cultural History.
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and its inventory became the subject of seminar works and one dissertation, and also the destination of several student excursions. Their purpose was to present the importance of the High Baroque building in the wider region of Litoměřice, and to promote the way of its instructed reconstruction.
The exclusive project thus enabled much needed interconnection of scientific research activities, university education, and practical heritage care.
