“THE REVITALISATION OF THE HISTORIC BUILDINGS IN CHEŁMNO” – THE FIRST PART

project co-financing with the means provided by the European Regional Development Fund within the Integrated Operational Programme of the Regional Development

Chełmno, a town situated close to the banks of the Vistula River, is not only one of the most striking spots in Poland but also a place rich in history and architecturally significant sites. Due to Chełmno’s mediaeval monuments and its picturesque location on the nine hills of Wysoczyzna Chełmińska (Chełmno’s Heights), the town often goes by the name of “Cracow of the North” and “the Polish Carcassonne”. Recently it has also been called “the City of Lovers”, which alludes to the fact that St. Valentine’s relics are placed here in the Parish Church in Chełmno. In 2005, the beautiful and historic Old Town in Chełmno was given yet another facet of significance by being put on the List of Historic Buildings by the President of the Republic of Poland.

The main tourist attraction in Chełmno is its mediaeval historic architecture that entices a large number of sightseers and art lovers into the town. The town’s most acclaimed treasures include:
a mediaeval well-preserved checker-wise lay-out of the Old Town
Gothic and Renaissance Town Hall (ratusz)
mediaeval fortifications dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries
the Grudziądzka Gate and the Holy Mary of Chełmno’s chapel

The examples of the 13th and 14th centuries’ sacral architecture such as:
the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the church is one of the oldest and biggest sanctuaries in Eastern Pomerania
St Peter and St Paul’s Church, a former Dominican church with a Basilica layout
St Jacob the Elder and St Nicolas’s Church, a former Franciscan church and a rectory
St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist’s Church, a former Cistercian and Benedictine Monastery and Church (halls, two stories high)
The Church of the Holy Spirit, it originally used to be a church hospital
St Martin’s Chapel, the latest work of Gothic architecture

The project called “the Revitalisation of the Historic Buildings in Chełmno” begins the first part of the initiative issued by the joint effort of the Municipality of Chełmno, Roman Catholic Parish of the Assumption of Holy Virgin and St Vincent de Paul’s Congregation of Sisters of Mercy, Chełmno and Poznań (Posen) Province. The project was set to protect Chełmno’s cultural heritage in order to promote the town on a profoundly larger scale. The project is aimed to support the cultural events, boost tourism, extend the tourist season and promote the tourism current through repairs and good maintenance of the town’s historic sites. With reference to the notice forwarded by the Board of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship welcoming the petitions for the financial assistance of the European Regional Development Fund for Priority 1 activities, which is the Development and modernisation of the infrastructure in order to reinforce the competitiveness of regions the Development of culture and tourism, in September 2004 the Municipality of Chełmno, acting as the Final Beneficiary, applied for the financial support according to the rules specified in the Programme Complement. On December 22, 2004 after positive formal judgment of the merits of the Project, the Board of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodship decided to support it with the means provided by the European Regional Development Fund within the Integrated Operational Programme of the Regional Development amounting to 75% of the eligible costs.

The project is estimated to cost 3 921 362, 31 PL.
The funded cost being: 2 935 957, 73 PLN

Project release date: July 5, 2005
Completion: September 30, 2006

The terms of reference and the scope of work as to the activities at issue due to a poor technical state include the following repair and preservation work:
Repair and preservation work of the city walls on the following sections: IV between Wodna Street and the Grudziądzka Gate and VI, between Wodna and Torunska Streets
Repair and preservation work carried out in order to strengthen the roof`s rafter und truss framings, the replacement of the ceramic roofing and the repair of the buttress in the St Peter and St Paul`s Church, the former Dominican church
The adapting works aimed to throw the Parish Church mighty tower open to the public
Repair and preservation work of the roof’s rafter and truss framings and the replacement of the ceramic roofing in St Martin’s Church
Repair and preservation work carried out in order to strengthen the western gable and the roof’s rafter and truss framings and the replacement of the ceramic roofing beneath the dome of St Jacob and St Nicolas’s Church
Repair and preservation work of Abbess Magdalena Morteska’s crypt in the vaults of St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist’s Church and repair of the floor in the church’s presbytery in order to make the place open to the public