Erfurt (dpa/th) – With the completion of the scaffolding construction, the go-ahead was given for the roof renovation work on the historic Ursuline convent in downtown Erfurt on Wednesday. The renovation is expected to last until late spring 2024. It is expected to cost six to seven million euros.

According to the scaffolders, the work associated with the roof renovation was more complex than work on St. Peter’s Basilica. In Rome, the scaffolders prepared Teupe

With the weather protection roof, the building should be protected and work on the monastery roof should be possible regardless of the weather. The roof truss is to be completely dismantled and rebuilt on the west side, i.e. between the monastery church and the Bildungshaus. Construction work had already started at the end of July. To erect the scaffolding, a crane was first lifted into the monastery’s choir garden.

The construction history of the historic building goes back to the Middle Ages. According to the diocese, the renovation is necessary because structural interventions over the past hundred years have led to the instability of the wooden structure. Without it, the monastery roof would collapse sooner or later, they said.

The rooms under the roof will later be used by the pastoral office of the diocese of Erfurt, among others. The group of sisters, who are getting smaller and older, moved some time ago to a new convent building in the courtyard of the monastery.