Over Br350 million will be required to restore the wind-damaged roof of St. Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk

October 9, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. According to preliminary estimates, over Br350 million will be required to restore the roof of St. Sophia Cathedral in Polotsk, which was destroyed by strong winds, Alexander Mikhalievich, Deputy Chairman of the Polotsk City Executive Committee and head of the emergency response headquarters, told a BELTA correspondent. Despite the fact that strong winds that swept over Polotsk on October 6 tore off about 300 sq. m of roofing, specialists concluded that the entire roof needed to be replaced - which is more than 600 sq. m. According to preliminary estimates, this will require Br350-400 million. Currently, construction and restoration work is underway at the cathedral. The project for the restoration is based on the roof reconstruction project that was carried out in 2007 and 2010, but it has been amended to account for increased wind loads, Alexander Mikhalievich emphasized. The general contractor for the work is Polotsk construction trust No. 22. Builders from Vitebsk have arrived to assist their colleagues. It is planned to involve about 30 roofers in the work. "The roof reconstruction took four months, and we do not have such a reserve of time for its restoration after the disaster, so all work will have to be carried out under extremely tight deadlines," the head of the headquarters noted. St. Sophia Cathedral, as a museum of architectural history, is part of the National Polotsk Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve. It is an architectural monument of the mid-11th to mid-18th centuries. The museum has been open to visitors since 1987. The museum's exhibits tell about the architectural history of the oldest stone building in Belarus, about numerous reconstructions, repairs, and the last restoration of the monument. In St. Sophia Cathedral, you can see fragments of 11th-century masonry, an almost completely preserved ancient foundation, as well as fresco paintings from the late 11th century - some of the oldest in Belarus. The concert hall in St. Sophia Cathedral has been operating since 1983. The International Festival of Ancient and Modern Chamber Music and the International Festival of Organ Music "Zvyany Safii" are held here annually. -0-