VELEHRAD – THE EAST-WEST DIALOGUE CENTRE

24. 06. 2010

On 24 June, construction of the multifunctional Cyril and Methodius House in Velehrad was ceremonially commenced and wil be implemented under the Project of Velehrad – the East-West Dialogue Centre. Velehrad – one of the most significant places of pilgrimage – thus opening another phase of its transformation with the goal of building a modern network of interconnected services in its territory. Former farm buildings will be rebuilt into a supra-regional centre of educational, sightseeing and religious tourism. The whole project has been implemented under the Integrated Operational Programme and co-financed from EU funds and the state budget of the Czech Republic.

The Cyril and Methodius House in Velehrad has been brought into existence through the reconstruction of the farm buildings of the granary and stables in Velehrad. At the same time, a new service building will be constructed. The former granary building is situated in the east part of the premises. It is a two-storey building with a cellar and two three-level towers. The passageway in the South Tower is used as the entrance to the premises in the direction from the monastic buildings and the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Cyril and Methodius Basilica.  A ground floor building, that used to accommodate a shop and a restaurant, has been integrated between the buildings of the granary and the stables.  It has an oblong shape and forms the north-east corner of the premises, together with the stables.

The former stables are the oldest of the whole set of farm buildings, dating as far back as before the middle of the 16th century. They are situated in the highest part of the grounds and their west gable adjoins a stair tower with a conic roof. The granary and the stables are built in the protected zone of the immovable cultural site of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and St. Cyril and Methodius Basilica in Velehrad. An exhibition hall – the Museum of the Bible, lecture hall, sweetshop, specialised bookstore with a fitted gallery, back office of the library, gallery, study rooms and research rooms, along with hygienic facilities for guests will be established in the renovated premises of the granary and the stables. ”Velehrad is an enormously important place, not only from the historic point of view, therefore it is an honour for us to participate in its modernization and development,“ said Tomáš Nosek, Director of Division 1 Brno of the Surface Construction of OHL ŽS, a.s. today.

The new service building will be built in the east part of the premises on the land of the Velehrad parish and will replace the original sanitary facility that has already become unsatisfactory. It will consist of two pavilions separated by a small courtyard serving, among other things, as a passageway to an orchard, also enabling maintenance vehicles to pass through it.  Both pavilions will be entered from the courtyard, each of them containing an entrance hall with a wash room, toilets and a room for pavilion attendants. There will also be special toilets and showers for people with impaired mobility, a nappy changing room, mop closets and storage rooms. Green vegetation will be planted on the roofs of both pavilions.

The project for reconstruction of the historical buildings was prepared by the Ateliér Dvořák Architekti studio, the tender specifications for the new construction of the  service building were developed by the  Projektový ateliér pro architekturu a pozemní stavby, spol. s r.o. design studio and the project documents for this building were designed by the Design Studio of OHL ŽS. The contracting authority is the Velehrad Roman Catholic Parish and the contractor is OHL ŽS, a.s. The total costs of the reconstruction and annex construction amount to CZK 88.153 million, excluding VAT, of which 85 % is paid from the European Regional Development Fund and 15 % from the state budget of the Czech Republic. The costs of the preparatory phase of the project were covered by the Velehrad Roman Catholic Parish. The construction implementation was commenced at the end of March and the date for its final completion is 31 May 2011.