Church of Saint Vitus, Gothic church in Horní Paseka, Czech Republic
The Church of Saint Vitus is a Gothic structure in Horní Paseka featuring a central tower and rectangular window openings across its exterior. The building displays traditional Czech ecclesiastical design with stone construction and a straightforward layout.
King Přemysl Otakar I gave Zahrádka to the Vyšehrad chapter in 1219; the present church arose around the mid-13th century and was a parish church in the 14th century. It was baroque-modified in the 18th century, repaired in 1852, and frescoes from around 1300 were found during the 1976–1979 survey.
The village of Zahrádka vanished in the 1970s when the Želivka dam was built, so the church lost its parish. The Přátelé Zahrádky association now holds the Zahrádka pilgrimage on the Saturday after Saint Vitus's Day, 15 June, when the church is open. A bronze statue of priest Josef Toufar, who served here in 1940–1948, stands in the former sacristy.
The church stands on a low spit on the shore of the Švihov reservoir, 11 km south of Ledeč nad Sázavou and 500 m west of road II/130. Entry into the reservoir's protection zone is forbidden, but the paved path to the church is permitted. It is open during the Zahrádka pilgrimage, held on the Saturday after 15 June.
The church stands on a low spit right on the bank of the Švihov reservoir on the Želivka river, not on a hilltop. The vanished town of Zahrádka was flooded in the 1970s, and the reservoir supplies drinking water to Prague, so entry into the protected zone around the lake is forbidden, though the paved path to the church is permitted.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,259 contributors worldwide.