The Way of the Cross of Reconciliation at the Church of St. Anne was blessed in Dětřichov near Frýdlant on 18 November 2023.

Fourteen stops in the form of glass sculptures were designed and created by glassmaker Josef Novotný from the Spider Glass glassworks in Heřmanice near Frýdlant in the Crystal Valley. The glass sculptures are placed on the original sandstone pedestals where the Stations of the Cross were painted in the last century. According to the mayor Martina Kohoutová, it has not been in its place since 1935.

The idea of restoring the Stations of the Cross came from the Dětřichov Ornamental Society together with German natives. Dětřichov supported the restoration because the Stations of the Cross are in the church garden, which belongs to the municipality. The project was funded by a grant from the Czech-German Future Fund, and the German natives also contributed. (Through the chairwoman of the Dětřichov Ornamental Society Monika Filová.) The largest part of the money was paid by Dětřichov from the municipal budget.

The glass paintings were made in the Spider Glass factory using the so-called fusing method, i.e. glass blowing. "The individual panels are about 40 cm wide and 60 cm high," says Josef Novotný. I wanted the Stations of the Cross to be different from the usual ones, I wanted to avoid baroque motifs. I took a modern approach, I used brighter colours. I depicted the whole biblical story in a simple way. The glass panels were then fitted into the existing niches of the sandstone columns. Now I'm just looking forward to the visitors' reactions."

"It's wonderful. We are very happy about it, it was a wonderful collaboration," says Martina Kohoutová, the mayor of Dětřichov. The colour design was also by Josef Novotný. We hope that the Stations of the Cross will increase tourism and that people will be able to see the garden."

In the future, the municipality is also preparing to turn the church garden into a public recreation park.