Church of Saint James the Greater, Baroque church in Červený Kostelec, Czech Republic

The Church of Saint James the Greater is a single-nave Baroque church on the square in Červený Kostelec, rebuilt in 1744–1754 by František Kermer with Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer. Its decorated facade carries a statue of Saint James in the high pediment above the tympanum, and a broad stone staircase with sandstone figures of Saints Wenceslas and Ludmila leads to the main entrance.

A Gothic church existed here by 1362, when it is first recorded as a parish church in a Prague diocese confirmation book entry dated 22 August 1362. It burned in 1591 and was restored in 1668. In 1744–1754 the Králové Hradec builder František Kermer rebuilt it in Baroque style, probably with Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, at the expense of Octavio Piccolomini.

The church is dedicated to Saint James the Greater, whose statue stands in the high pediment above the tympanum. Mass is held daily. The interior mixes styles: the main altar is pseudo-Renaissance from 1906, the Stations of the Cross date from 1905, while the side altars of Saint John of Nepomuk and the Virgin Mary are Baroque, and the pulpit from around 1760 has rocaille ornament.

You can visit during regular worship services or arrange a visit in advance to see the interior properly. The church may have limited access at certain times, so checking current opening hours beforehand is worth doing.

The second planned free-standing tower was never built; its base holds bones from the churchyard that closed to burials in 1821, cleared gradually over many years. The tower clock, made in 1838 by local weaver Antonín Kaválek, is now on its sixth mechanism, an electric one installed in 1988.