Romanesque church in Mohelnice nad Jizerou, 12th-century Romanesque church in Mohelnice nad Jizerou, Czech Republic
The Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is a single-nave Romanesque building of regularly coursed sandstone blocks from Hrubá Skála, each course of a different height. A square west tower 4.35 m wide and 20 m tall, a rectangular nave and a semicircular east apse with a conch vault make up the structure; a small four-lobed rose window survives on the southwest side.
Built in the second half of the 12th century, the church is a Romanesque gallery church, a form tied to fortified aristocratic seats, though no other remains of such a seat survive. Josef Mocker restored it in 1876 in the spirit of 19th-century purism, enlarging the windows, replacing the nave ceiling, moving the main entrance and raising the floor.
Mass is not held here regularly; the only annual service is the Feast of the Assumption on 15 August. A small relief of a woman's face set between the arches under the eaves on the north side is known as the "Mohelnice Turk". Legend says a crusader knight from nearby Zásadka brought a Turkish woman home and married her, and the church was built in memory of their reconciliation with her father.
The church stands in the centre of Mohelnice nad Jizerou, less than 100 metres from the right bank of the Mohelka, about 500 metres above its confluence with the Jizera. A car park and the Mohelnice nad Jizerou bus stop, served from Mnichovo Hradiště, Český Dub, Mladá Boleslav and Prague, are nearby. The exterior can be seen at any time, but the interior only on rare occasions; regular services are not held, except the annual Assumption Mass on 15 August. A branch of the Way of St James passes the church.
A small relief of a woman's face is set between the arches of the north wall; locals call it the "Mohelnice Turk". Legend says a crusader brought a Turkish woman home and married her, and the church was built in memory of the reconciliation with her father.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,149 contributors worldwide.