Rep. n° 13/2024
Žilina, October 8, 2024. The NGO Servare et Manere is also dedicated to the promotion of cultural and historical monuments in Slovakia, including their restoration and reconstruction. Throughout its history, the association has been involved in several international projects and is also involved in publishing activities. There are several small wayside shrines in the cadastre of the city of Žilina, some of which have disappeared, some have been reconstructed and others require restoration. Our association pais attention to these monuments of small sacral architecture and decided to reconstruct one of the buildings to its original form. We picked a wayside shrine (In German: Bildstock) for rescue, which is located on the walking route next to the road to the “Paľova búda” on Univerzitná Street. The small church building stands to the historic pilgrimage route to the village of Višňové. We are currently working on historical research and a suitable proposal for the restoration of a historical monument. The restored building will also include a replica of the original statue of the Virgin Mary, which has disappeared in recent decades and will probably never be found again.
The wayside shrine at this place is already drawn on the historical map of Žilina from the author Michal Ruttkay-Nedecký from 1747. It is the oldest detailed map of the city. Object, resp. its core can therefore be dated to the middle of the 18th century. The wayside shrine is also drawn as a brick object on the letters of the First Military Mapping, known as the Josephine Mapping (completed during the reign of Emperor Joseph II). It was performed on the territory of Slovakia in the years 1769 and 1782 – 1784. Žilina and its surroundings were mapped in 1769. This is the first building that Servare et Manere acquired into its ownership.
In 2024, Servare et Manere received a grant subsidy from the Žilina City Council No. 486/2024 for the implementation of the first stage of rescue works. The aim of the project was to technically stabilize the building. Servare et Manere received EUR 1,000 from the Grant Scheme for the Area of Culture, which was spent as effectively as possible. In 2024, Servare et Manere also received grant subsidy No. 786/2024 from the Contingency Fund No. 4, another subsidy of EUR 1,000 for expenses related to the restoration research of the building.
The poor technical condition of this building required renovation from the ground up. The funds from the subsidy were primarily used to renovate the building’s foundations. Visually, the building had and still has problems, mainly with humidity, and inappropriate brizolite plaster was also used during the last renovation in the 1970s. As part of the renovation, unsuitable plasters were knocked down into the original masonry in selected places. After the survey, a procedure was determined to renovate the foundations of the building in the least destructive way possible, thereby achieving their dehumidification and stabilization. We will continue to dry the foundation masonry so that in the spring we can continue with further follow-up work that will restore the building to its original, historical appearance. During the renovation, we also discovered the original color, which will facilitate further visual stages of the renovation.
