The Pancratius Church, also known as the Cathedral of Drenthe, was built in the ninth century. The church was completely restored around 1950. These slates have also been on the roof since that time. “They are now gone,” says church steward Jaap Ruiter. After seventy years they become brittle, pieces crumble off. And you might get a leak. To prevent that, we are now going to replace all the slates on the roof.”
That is a costly job. The church board will not make it with only the subsidy from the government and the foundation. But they came up with something for that. “You can buy a slate from us that comes off the roof. You can adopt a new slate and you can buy a painted slate.”
Those slates are painted by the painting circle from Diever. They will do that in the coming days. “That looks really cool,” says Ruiter, who holds one in his hands. A colorful bouquet is depicted on the stone.