In 2021. The Polonika Institute funded research and preparation of a conservation work programme for the monument topped by the statue of Christ Falling Under the Cross, located in the village of Boremel on Pershotravneva Street in Ukraine.

The monumental statue shows a limestone figure of Christ perched on a high three-tier pedestal made of brick and plastered. On the longer sides of the pedestal are sandstone plaques with inscriptions in Polish and Latin.

The research was aimed at visually inspecting the object, making an expert opinion and drawing up a conservation work programme taking into account the state of preservation and the technological structure of the monument. The analysis confirmed the very poor condition of the object, including severe deterioration of the brick and stone material of which the statue is made. The deteriorating surface, subjected to dampness and salinity over the years, had been incompetently repainted and coated with cement in the past. The use of technology unsuitable for limestone and brick has further accelerated the degradation of the monument. The work also identified relics of what was probably the original polychrome decorating the statue.

The monument urgently requires conservation work. A search for archival and iconographic materials in Polish and Ukrainian archives is currently underway.

Executor: Partnership for East-Central Europe Foundation

Conservation works carried out in 2021, Conservation Programme, Polonica Institute