Hildesheim (bph) Everybody needs a good friend sometimes, and perhaps even a generous benefactor now and then. The jewels of Hildesheim Cathedral are no exception. Many of them are awaiting people who can help to restore them to their former glory. Hildesheim businessman Thomas Adamski is among the first of these ‘restoration sponsors’. He donated 7,600 euros for the restoration of the head reliquary of St. Jacob of Nisibis. On the afternoon of Wednesday 7 December, he personally gave ‘his’ art treasure a closer inspection.

Restoration sponsor Thomas Adamski (2nd from left) closely examines ‘his’ reliquary in the diocese’s restoration workshop. Accompanying him (from left): Prof. Dr. Michael Brandt, director of the cathedral museum, restorer Uwe Schuchardt and Dr. Konrad Deufel, chairman of the Cathedral Construction Society; Photograph: bph Foto: bph

Thomas Adamski’s sponsorship is part of the “Treasures in Danger” project, for which the Hildesheim Cathedral Construction Society and the diocese fundraising office are hoping to attract restoration sponsors in the coming months. A brochure for the project has been published illustrating all 45 objects in need of restoration. It also outlines the restoration costs of each object for which the diocese is seeking a sponsor. The amounts sought range from 80 euros for the restoration of a fragment of a jug from the miracle at Cana to the 7,600 euros contributed by Thomas Adamski. The objects themselves are also very different in nature: they include reliquaries and also crosses, candleholders and books. (more)