1.
LV & CU PAN Scaffolding around Kecskemet Cathedral, Hungary. (2 SHOTS)
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CU Broken masonry.
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CU Restoration work in progress on cornice and steps. (2 SHOTS)
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GV PAN FROM Modern building in town square TO Cathedral.
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SV & CU Painters at work on scaffolding around tower. (2 SHOTS)
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CU Clock being painted.
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TV PAN FROM Scaffolding ACROSS town square.
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CU Workers fit hands to clock.
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CU INTERIOR Mechanism being wound and clock mechanism being oiled. (4 SHOTS)
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GV PAN FROM Town Hall TO cathedral tower.
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Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: The Hungarian Government has given approval for the restoration of one of the country's most famous Roman Catholic cathedrals. It is in the town of Kecskemet, on the Hungarian Plain, and the local authorities hope that the restoration will attract a large number of tourists, both from home and abroad.

SYNOPSIS: Scaffolding now hides much of the beauty of Kecskemet Cathedral. The seventy-four metre high church was built towards the end of the eighteenth century.

But in recent years it has been largely neglected, and was in danger of being destroyed, until a national body decided that urgent repairs were necessary.

While the town of Kecskemet has seen much development since World War Two, the cathedral has always served as a link with the past. Now craftsmen are at work so that an essential element of Hungarian history can be preserved.

In order to maintain the original colouring, a special material has been mixed with the paint. It is hoped this will preserve the colour for at least thirty years.

Perhaps the biggest challenge to the group of five experts will be the restoration of the Kecskemet clock. A special team was employed to fit the two-and-a-half metre long dials to the clock face. The original mechanism was fitted in the nineteenth century and the clock has been out of action while complex repairs were carried out. Now the citizens of Kecskemet will once again be able to adjust their daily routine to the cathedral clock.

It is hoped that the restoration work will be completed in a few weeks.