Funding shortfall stalls plan to turn Narva church into concert hall
The conversion of Narva's Alexander's Cathedral into a concert hall has come to a standstill because of insufficient funding. The Narva city government sees a possible solution in partially renovating the church, but for that the state would need to find more than three million euros.
The Ministry of the Interior became the owner of church ten years ago after the congregation went bankrupt. The state has tried to be a responsible caretaker of the landmark building. Emergency repairs were carried out on the dome hall, the risk of collapse was eliminated, and the church's deterioration was stopped.
A large‑scale renovation project to transform the church into a concert hall has also been completed. Unfortunately, the reconstruction turned out to be too expensive, and the project was put on hold a couple of years ago. At present, the Ministry of the Interior only has the means to keep the church open.
"The state's ability to restore the church has not run out. We have simply had Covid, the war in Ukraine, and everything that comes with it at the beginning of this decade. The state inevitably has to make choices in budget use, and unfortunately restoration of Narva's Alexander's Cathedral has not yet made it into those choices," said Siim Vahi, head of the ministry's property management department.
Alexander's Cathedral could become one of Estonia's best concert halls, helping to enliven the region's cultural life and economy, Narva city government says. For this reason, the state should continue restoration work. Initially, even repairing just the main hall would be enough.
"That hall would be very good for our residents and for the entire Ida‑Viru region. We once again make a heartfelt request to find 3.5 million from this more than 20‑billion‑euro budget. So that the hall area, which today is simply unusable, could be repaired," said Narva mayor Jaan Toots.
The Ministry of the Interior has considered partial renovation of the church, but even allocating 3.5 million is currently beyond the state's means. Narva could carry out the work itself, but cannot.
"We would have long ago taken a loan and done it. But it belongs to the state, it is on the Ministry of the Interior's balance sheet, and with no legal workaround can we do it ourselves," Toots added.
Full renovation of Narva's Alexander's Cathedral would cost nearly ten million euros.
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Editor: Neit-Eerik Nestor, Argo Ideon
