Renovation of the Mylau town church
A brief review - the period from 2005 to 2020
(As of May 2020)
Autumn storm in November 2004. Cast iron parts of the approx. 6.0 meter long cross from the main tower fall from a height of 72 meters onto Burgstrasse, the church forecourt and in front of the school door of the Heubnerring elementary school. The heaviest section of 24 kg left only a dent that can still be seen today on the handrail of the forecourt railing. Otherwise no further damage. Not on cars, part landed exactly between two cars that were only about 1.50 meters apart. Not on the church roof or gutters. A real miracle! But also a hint from the “landlord” with the request: “Folks, now take care of my house in which I live and in which I want to serve you more intensively. Now is a good time for it and I will give you my help ”.
Now the church council began to question and weigh up the type and scope, financial security and much more. This always required great patience and “stick with it” from authorities, offices and donors.
Finally, in cooperation with the engineering office for building planning, Dipl. Ing. (FH) A. Bechmann, a coordinated renovation concept for five construction phases with an expected cost of € 1,230 million and completion by 2013 was available.
After some “back and forth” with our church building authority, the city of Mylau, the redevelopment agency KEM and the Saxon Aufbaubank, the concept was confirmed in the federal-state funding program “Urban Monument Protection (SDP)”. Great relief when, thanks to the Economic Stimulus Package II enacted by the Federal Government at the time, a “snap shot” was given in March 2009 to start construction.
1st construction phase
Main tower, first section
For financial planning reasons on the part of the SAB limited by the height of the eaves
Nave to the top of the tower:
- Construction of special scaffolding with a verified static calculation,
- Partial renewal of the wooden supporting structure (support rim of the spire),
- renewal of the roof boarding,
- New sheet metal plating with copper sheet of the tower top including its superstructures,
Crowns, new tower ball, etc.,
- Refurbishment and partial renovation of the tower cross,
- repainting of the clock faces of the tower clock,
- Renewal of the bell shutters,
- Repair of the tower facade with partial new production of shaped clinker bricks
of various kinds through custom-made products.
Execution time: 04/2009 to 05/2010, scope of costs: € 316.2 thousand.
Then a first test of patience. The share of funding required in the funding program
The municipality of 10% of the construction costs could no longer be raised by the city of Mylau. This state of affairs lasted until 2016. This compulsory break has the church council
was prompted to rearrange the first renovation concept according to structural urgency.
In 2016 the city of Mylau merged with the city of Reichenbach. By timely
Consultations with the building authority of the city of Reichenbach were possible in 2016 with the
Spezialgerüst am Hauptturm
Verzierungen aus Kupferblech am Fuß der Turmspitze - bisher
Neue Turmkugel (mit alten und neuen Dokumenten bestückt)
Spezialgerüst am Hauptturm
2nd construction phase - part 1 the renovation work will be continued.
- Horizontal closures to drain the outer walls in some areas,
- Provisional dust protection walls and housing of the organ,
- Crack repairs on the vaults above the galleries,
- Wall plaster renewals after the drainage work, as well as the long-term damage
on the north side of the gallery,
- Painting of the previously named wall and vault areas with participation
of the restorer, Mr. Brasche from Lengenfeld,
- Renewal of the ceiling above the stairwell in the northern flank tower.
Execution time: 05/2016 to 10/2016, costs € 99.9 thousand.
Provisorische Staubschutzwand, Empore Nordseite
Langzeit-Nässeschäden Empore Nordseite
Langzeit-Nässeschäden unter der Empore im Kirchenschiff
Provisorische Staubschutzwand, Empore Nordseite
Since in the aforementioned part 1, for financial reasons, it was only possible to start the interior renovation, the second construction phase - section 2 - was tackled in 2017.
- Completion of the interior renovation (wall drainage, plastering work, painting work),
- Completion of the facade repairs to the main tower, lower part,
- Start of roof repairs to the nave, north side.
Execution time: 07/2018 to 03/2018, costs 359.9 T €.
All further work up to the completion of the overall renovation could be coordinated with
of the city of Reichenbach as the 3rd construction phase in a modernization agreement in June 2018
be summarized. For financial and execution time reasons, this was again only partially
sections, spread over three years, can be realized.
Mauertrockenlegung und Putzerneuerung im Kirchenschiff
Beginn Instandsetzung Dach/Fassade Nordseite
Mauertrockenlegung und Putzerneuerung im Kirchenschiff
3rd construction phase - sub-section 1
Completion of the repairs to the roof and facade on the north side
- Considerable interventions for the static strengthening of the roof structure due to
Long-term damage due to the effects of moisture,
- New roof boarding and new slate covering,
- Renovation of the facade, also here again custom-made clinker bricks,
- Partial renewal of the crossing tower (roof turret) with statically-related, extremely complicated
ter scaffolding substructure within the roof truss.
Execution time. 05/2018 to 06/2019, costs 358.4 T €.
Schäden am Dachtragwerk Nordseite - bisher
Schäden am Dachtragwerk Nordseite - nach der Erneuerung
Schäden am Dachtragwerk Nordseite - nach der Erneuerung
Schäden am Dachtragwerk Nordseite - bisher
3rd construction phase - part 2
Repair of the roof and facade on the east side
- Again, due to partial dry rot infestation, there were interventions in
the roof structure, as well as the procurement of shaped clinker bricks necessary,
- The refurbishment or rebuilding was similar to the work on the main tower at that time
the different roof peaks made of copper sheet very time-consuming and costly,
- Interior plastering of the stairwell in the southern flank tower.
Execution time: since 06/2019, planned completion: end of May 2020
Scope of costs: According to the cost calculation, probably € 328.5 thousand
Fortsetzung Instandsetzung Dach / Fassade, Nordseite / Ostseite
Schäden am Dachtragwerk Ostseite - bisher
Instandsetzung Vierungsturm (Dachreiter) - statische Verstärkung der Unterkonstruktion innerhalb des Dachsprengwerkes
Fortsetzung Instandsetzung Dach / Fassade, Nordseite / Ostseite
3rd construction phase - part 3
Repair of the roof and facade on the south side
- Type and scope of the work analogous to the description of subsections 1 and 2.
- Interior plastering of the stairwell in the northern flank tower.
Execution time: 03/2020 to 12/2020
Scope of costs: according to the cost calculation, expected to be € 360.0 thousand.
At the end of 2020, the complete renovation will be completed after 10 years of construction, with a
Construction interruption of 5 years and a total cost of approx. € 1,822 million must be completed.
Unfortunately, it was not possible to repair the extremely valuable lead glass windows in the course of the renovation work. In 130 years the “ravages of time” have severely damaged the windows. The window repair was originally estimated in the application from 2008 at approx. € 200.0 thousand. However, according to the interpretation of the eligibility provisions, these works are "art in architecture" and they are not eligible under the SDP program.
So this problem will cause some headaches for the church council in the future.