Church of Saint Ludmila, Baroque church in Mělník, Czech Republic.
The Church of Saint Ludmila is a single-nave baroque building on Pražská Street in Mělník, originally built in 1585 and rebuilt in baroque style between 1673 and 1683. Its interior holds a pulpit with depictions of four holy fathers from 1699 and a main altar with a painting of Saint Ludmila from 1746. In the church park, on the site of a former cemetery, stands a wooden shingled bell tower from 1906–1907 with a bell from 1598, the oldest surviving in Mělník.
The church was built in 1585 on land donated to the town in 1583 by the widow Ludmila Mettelicová, who died in 1584 before construction finished. Swedish troops destroyed it in 1639 during the Thirty Years' War, and it was rebuilt in baroque form between 1673 and 1683, with further renovations in 1906–1907 and the 1990s.
The church is named after Princess Ludmila, said to have been born in Mělník and, as a newly baptised Christian, refused entry to the town by local pagans, so she spent the night on this spot; legend holds the grass here stayed green even in winter. The wooden bell tower in the church park, on the site of the former cemetery, houses a bell from 1598, the oldest surviving in Mělník.
The church opens for regular religious services throughout the week and on weekends when visitors can attend services. Those interested in more detailed visits should contact ahead to ask about available guided tours.
In the church park, on the site of the former cemetery, stands a shingled wooden bell tower built in 1906–1907 to the design of architect Antonín Wiehl; it was moved here from the 1895 folklore exhibition and holds a bell from 1598, the oldest surviving one in Mělník.
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