As of: February 27, 2024, 8:00 a.m
By: Roland Halmel
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The on-site appointment with Wessobrunn's mayor Georg Guggemos, church caretaker Hans Schelle and the third mayor Andreas Reßler took place while still in the snow.
In the meantime, the Forster parish church was completely scaffolded.
© Roland Halmel
The parish church of St. Leonhard in Forst has been equipped with scaffolding since the end of last year.
It is now clear that the long-planned renovation of the almost 300-year-old church has begun.
Forest - “The drainage system has already been brought into shape and the foundations on the west side have been sealed,” reported church caretaker Hans Schelle at an on-site appointment with Wessobrunn's mayor Georg Guggemos and Andreas Reßler, the third mayor.
Work on the roof is scheduled to begin in February.
The exterior facade will then be tackled.
“The tuff stone wall, which was exposed to strong weather influences in the west, is still in a solid condition.
However, it will be reworked if there are any breakouts or defects,” explained Schelle.
But it's not just the outside of the church that needs to be brought into shape.
“Thanks to the great willingness to donate, it was possible to renovate the interior of the church as a second project,” said Schelle, pleased about the around 150,000 euros that have been received in donations for the project over the last few years.
Scaffolding will also be erected in the church over the course of the year in order to renovate the interior and rework two frescoes.
“The church services can continue as normal despite the scaffolding,” explains Schelle.
In addition, guided tours are also available in summer, led by the responsible architect Dr.
Klaus Pilz will be accompanied.
“To give those interested an overview of the measures to be carried out,” says Schelle.
The schedule is to complete the exterior work by fall of this year.
Work on the interior will continue until 2025.
Costs of a good 1.5 million euros have been calculated for the renovation project.
To finance the measure, the lion's share of around 800,000 euros comes from the responsible diocese, the Diocese of Augsburg.
The municipality of Wessobrunn is contributing 100,000 euros.
The district, the district as well as various foundations and the monument office are expected to add almost 350,000 euros.
“We are still happy to accept donations,” adds Schelle, as unforeseen additional work and the resulting additional costs can never be ruled out in a renovation project like this.
“Our goal is to preserve this historical monument from the creative period of the “Wessobrunner School,” explains Schelle.
The church caretaker cannot yet say exactly when the work on the St. Leonhard parish church will be completed.
However, he did have a desired date for a reopening celebration of the renovated church.
“May 2026 will be the 300th anniversary of the laying of the foundation stone, which would be a wonderful date.”