Beauty of Baroque cemetery chapel revived after insensitive reconstructions
The Baroque cemetery chapel of the Holy Family in Odry, Moravia, was built in 1718-1719. Over the centuries it underwent a number of insensitive reconstructions that hid many aspects of its former beauty. However the most recent reconstruction in 2015 yielded a number of unexpected discoveries.
Under layers of bricks and plaster experts discovered a wooden timbered structure and a painted ceiling from the early Baroque period, and fragments of wall paintings in the nave of the chapel. In view of these findings, the town of Odry had the original project redesigned, which allowed for the sensitive restoration of the newly found elements.
Since it was not possible to restore the ceiling in situ, after marking all its parts, the individual wooden planks of the soffit were removed and transported to the workshop of academic painter and restorer Petr Stirber and Romana Balcarová. The chapel’s original tiles were also discovered under newer floorboards and were restored according to their original design. Its beauty of the old chapel is underscored by its simple interior and several pieces of modern art.
Today, the Chapel of the Holy Family is used for exhibitions, concerts and other cultural events and is an architectural and historical jewel of which the town can be justly proud.
In 2023, the Chapel of the Holy Family won the award of the National Heritage Institute Patrimonium pro futuro (Legacy for the Future) in the category of Discovery of the Year.
