A unique programme of the Hradec Králové Region “Restoration of the historic organ”which is unparalleled in the Czech Republic, has been regularly announced by the Hradec Králové Region since 2008. For 12 years, the Regional Authority has paid for the restoration of historically and artistically valuable organs, including those that are not declared a separate cultural monument. CZK 17 191 000, a total of over 40 941 450 CZK. The royal instruments in the towns and villages of our region have brought together owners, patrons and sponsors and together, in various stages, have resurrected this material heritage, not only architectural but also in sound. 47 instruments were successfully saved.

The author of the project is the singer Jakub Hrubý, who together with Václav Uhlíř, the project’s guarantor, organologist and organist, has compiled a database of resurrected organs awaiting presentation. Both of them participated in the recording of sound and videos and in the creation of this website.

There are a total of 734 organs in the entire Hradec Králové Diocese. There are 320 of them in the Hradec Králové Region. However, these are only instruments in Catholic churches. If we were to add instruments in other areas (other churches, concert halls, schools), the number of organs in the Hradec Králové region would be around 400.

Since 1990, about 150 organs have been repaired in the Hradec Králové Region (not including minor maintenance). Around 70 million crowns have been invested in these repairs. In the entire Hradec Králové Diocese, over 400 organs have been repaired since 1990, at a cost of over CZK 200 million. The Hradec Králové Region is the only region that has established a special subsidy programme for the preservation of historic organs. Other regions contribute to organ repairs only within the framework of programmes supporting culture and heritage conservation, and the sums they donate for organ repairs are many times smaller.

The Hradec Králové Region has invested CZK 16.5 million since 2008, when a grant for the preservation of historic organs was established, and by 2020 a total of 47 organs have been repaired under this programme.

The organ is mainly used for worship, but it is also used for other occasions such as weddings and funerals. They are also regularly used in concerts and classical music festivals. For example, the Orlicko-Kladsko Organ Festival, For the Treasures of the Broumov Region, Musical Summer in Kuks or the Organ Summer in Broumov. A number of repaired instruments have also been recorded on CD or presented in the radio series Letokruhy kraje. There is still a great interest in the organ, which is evidenced by the national event Night of Churches, when thousands of people come to admire the organ.

But the organ is not just a musical instrument. They are an integral part of our cultural heritage. They often represent the fine arts and are also an interesting testament to the sophisticated craftsmanship of our ancestors. Perhaps the French writer Honoré de Balzac described them most succinctly:

“The organ is undoubtedly the greatest, boldest and most beautiful of all the instruments invented by the human spirit.”