Przesunięcie kościoła dekanalnego w mieście Most

The Virgin Mary Church in the town of Most, dating from 1517, is one of the most valuable historical Gothic monuments in Czechoslovakia. Therefore, the Czechoslovak Government took the decision of preserving the Church although, the town of Most had been designed for demolition, owing to the necessity to extend the local coal mine. They decided to shift the building to its new location at a distance of 843 metres from its former site. The shifting took place in October, 1975. The shifting operation was proceeded by archeological works, listing of equipment and architectural investigations. In consequence of these, some discoveries took place, e.g. th e Church foundation dating from the end of the 13th century and fragments of mural paintings dating from the 16th century were revealed. Research were followed by strengthening of vaultings, walls and socles of the pillars with „belts” made of concrete. Besides, the whole of the building was reinforced with the' construction made of steel. For the shifting operation there were used 53 rolling chassis provided with hydraulic elevator. A system of horizontal lines and electrolimit gauges was adopted. The shifting consisted of three stages: lifting of the load on to the rolling chassis, shifting of the building a t the speed of 2.5 metres a day and placing of the Church on the formerly prepared foundation. UNESCO specialists were asked their advice upon the shifting of the Church. This undertaking is a good example of great care th a t a socialist country takes in the sphere of cultural heritage protection.