Selection of the Replacement Building Stone for the Repair of the Ashlar Masonry Plinth of St. Anna Church in Vižňov

In 2015 we participated in an ashlar masonry plinth restoration of St. Anna church in the village Vižňov. The plinth is built up from sandstones, which were probably quarried in the surroundings of the church. The sandstone blocks had undergone weathering processes and some of them were strongly damaged. Therefore, the complete exchange of strongly destroyed blocks was necessary and thus the task of choosing a substitute material arose. First of all, a detailed survey of the stone's initial state was completed and then the stone plinth was described from a geological, structural and historical perspective. For the purposes of the reconstruction it was necessary to find a matching local alternative rock or a comparable one from another site. For this reason a geological survey was made to identify and document possible historic quarries from which the stone for the construction of the church plinth could be taken.