Kościół św. Antoniego Padewskiego w Ligocie Górnej, Renaissance wooden church in Vyšní Lhoty, Czech Republic.
The Church of St. Anthony of Padua on Malá Prašivá is a wooden structure with a rectangular nave of massive fir logs and a slightly recessed three-sided presbytery. A small tower sits above the triangular gable; before World War II damage it had an onion dome, now a pyramidal one. The whole building is covered in shingles, first applied in 1753.
Built in 1640 at the expense of Count Jiří of Oppersdorf as thanks for rescue from an enraged stag, the church was consecrated on 5 August 1640 to St. Ignatius of Loyola, the count's patron, and endowed with 240 thalers and a silver chalice. Its patronage changed in 1673, and in 1791 a treaty between the Frýdek and Dobrá parishes transferred it to Dobrá. In 1938 the last pilgrimage became a protest against the Polish annexation, and on 4 May 1945 two artillery shells from Raškovice hit the church.
Pilgrims from across Těšínsko came here for indulgences, and the church was first dedicated to St. Ignatius of Loyola, the patron of Count Jiří of Oppersdorf; the dedication changed to St. Anthony of Padua in 1673. A fair-sized pilgrimage was held on 13 November 1938, when a blessing by the Frýdek dean Brablec turned into a protest against the Polish annexation of Prašivá.
The church stands on the summit of Malá Prašivá, reached on foot by hiking trails; the tower was added in 1860 and rebuilt after 1945, and the whole building was restored between 2001 and 2005. Outdoor services were banned in the 1950s, so today's visits centre on the interior and the pilgrimage dates.
The church was built in 1640 as a thank-offering by Count Jiří z Oppersdorfu after he was saved from an enraged deer. Its tower was added in 1860, and the small spire above the triangular gable was pyramidal only after World War II damage; before that it was onion-shaped.
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