History of the project

The history of the second stage of the project focuses on describing the steps leading to the repair of the plaster of the Church of Our Lady Help of Christians, whose foundation stone was laid in 1936. More information about the history of the church can be found in newspaper articles from the time of its construction and in the Photodocumentation in the Malečov Region – History project, in the Čeřeniště section. More details about the architectural concept of the church can be found here.

After the actual completion of the previous stage of the project—removing moisture from the foundations—in November 2023, the idea of logically continuing the entire project with the repair of the plaster emerged. For the initial information of the National Heritage Institute ÚOP Ústí nad Labem, photographs were taken on 20. 4. 2024—see Photo Gallery. At a small ceremony marking the completion of the first phase of the project, held on 4. 5. 2024 (see Foundations: History of the project at the bottom), the final decision was made by confirming the cooperation between the Roman Catholic parish of Proboštov and the Malečovský rozhled association on the plaster repair.

Communication was initiated with the NPÚ ÚOP Ústí nad Labem representative, Tomáš Šefle, with whom an inspection was carried out directly at the church on 21. 5. 2024 to determine the working procedures and materials for the plaster repairs. His expert proposal was then incorporated into the application submitted by the association under the authority of the Roman Catholic parish of Proboštov on 10. 6. 2024 to the Department of Heritage Care of the Municipality of Ústí nad Labem. The application also included a drawing of the church facade, which was prepared free of charge as a donation by surveyor Michal Radina in early June 2024. It shows that the total area of the facade is just under 140 m².

The photographs and the facade drawing show a three-part window with stained glass above the entrance. The middle section bears the inscription SCHREIER (if this was meant to indicate the donor, the name would contradict the newspaper article mentioned below) and the date 19 August 1936. A newspaper article in the Leitmeritzer Zeitung, volume 66 (from 1936), on 12. 8. 1936, page 6, states that the anonymous choir windows were donated by Dr. Spiegelhauer from Litoměřice. Another short article from 17. 8. 1936, page 8, reads: “The church in Čeřeniště was consecrated on Saturday. The entire village and the surrounding area participated in the celebration, which was introduced in an uplifting way by a performance by amateur actors.” The church was consecrated on 15. 8. 1936 on the Feast of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary.

On 4. 7. 2024, the association received a binding opinion from the Department of Historic Preservation of the Department of Planning and Building Regulations of the Municipality of Ústí nad Labem. The restoration of the church facade is considered permissible without further conditions, provided that the working procedures specified in the association's application and cited in the binding opinion are followed.

Therefore, requests for comments were submitted to the Environmental Department of the MměÚL and to the AOPK RP Administration of the Czech Central Highlands Protected Landscape Area. As part of the proceedings at the Environmental Department, an opinion from SČVK was also requested, as the church in Čeřeniště is located in the level II sanitary protection zone of the drinking water source. On 6. 9. 2024, the association received a statement of approval from SČVK, which was immediately forwarded to the Environmental Department. On 27. 9. 2024, the association received via DS the joint decision of the AOPK RP Administration of the Czech Central Highlands Protected Landscape Area. On 8. 10. 2024, the association received via DS the unified environmental approval from the Environmental Department of the Ústí nad Labem City Council.

On 7. 11. 2024, the association received via its data box the Decision on the project approval: the construction of "Church of Čeřeniště - facade repair" is permitted, which came into force on 23. 11. 2024. Preparations for the construction, including the selection of the contractor and, most importantly, securing the necessary funds, could thus begin.
At a meeting held at the Bishopric of Litoměřice on 13. 11. 2024, attended by a representative of the bishopric (construction engineer Ivo Fiedler), a representative of the parish of Proboštov (Dean Karel Havelka), and the chairman of the association, it was agreed that the required amount for the plaster repair costs, totaling 500 thousand CZK incl. VAT, would be covered without the use of subsidies. The association will aim to secure approximately 200 thousand CZK from donations, while the remaining amount will be covered by the parish. Work on the plaster repair will begin in May 2025, or as soon as atmospheric conditions allow. The chairman of the association committed to donating 20 thousand CZK, and Dean Havelka also committed to 20 thousand CZK.

A donation collection has been launched for the association’s special account dedicated to church repairs: 9661917036/5500. The association, on behalf of its chairman, sincerely thanks all donors in advance. Donations can be made based on a donation agreement, which can be used to reduce the income tax base.
You can check the current account balance HERE.

On 10 February 2025, a representative of the Department of Heritage Protection of the Municipality of Ústí nad Labem informed the chairman of the association about the possibility of obtaining a subsidy of 200 thousand CZK. The grant applies to monuments listed in the Inventory of Cultural Monuments maintained by the National Heritage Institute and must be submitted to the Municipality by the end of February 2025. At a meeting (for the parish: Dean Havelka, for the association: Petr, for the bishopric: technician Fiedler), which took place on 17 February 2025 at the Bishopric of Litoměřice, the content of the application was discussed and it was agreed that the application for the Roman Catholic parish of Proboštov would be processed by technician Fiedler. The Chairman of the Association then picked up the application in Litoměřice on 27 February 2025 and subsequently handed it over to the Municipality of Ústí nad Labem. The staff of the Heritage Protection Department found the application to be properly processed and sent it to the Ministry of Culture for processing at the end of March.