Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Rococo pilgrimage church in Bezno, Czech Republic
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul is a rococo pilgrimage church built in 1750–1755 to a design by Count František J. Pachta of Rájov, standing at the main crossroads of Bezno. It has a rectangular single nave with a transept, a semicircular presbytery, and a square west tower added in 1763 by Filip Heger. Inside, ceiling frescoes of 1764 by Josef Hager fill carved mirror panels.
The church was built in 1750–1755 to a design by Count František J. Pachta of Rájov, replacing an earlier chapel that housed a Baroque statue of Our Lady of Sorrows; the statue was moved into the new church. The west tower was added in 1763 to a design by Filip Heger. Between 1995 and 2014, CZK 3,077,000 from the Programme for the Rescue of Architectural Heritage went to repairs.
Pilgrims from the surrounding area walked to Bezno on the feast of Our Lady of Sorrows to confess and receive the sacraments, around 2,000 a year on average. The object of veneration is a Baroque statue of Our Lady of Sorrows, kept in a separate chapel before the church was built and then moved to a special altar here.
The church stands at the main crossroads in the centre of Bezno, with the square tower at its west end facing the street. It is a parish church in the Litoměřice diocese, so its interior is normally seen during services; the diocesan catalogue lists the current mass times. The 1995–2014 heritage programme repairs covered the fabric, so the building is in use rather than a ruin.
The west tower was added only in 1763, eight years after the church was finished, following a design by Filip Heger. The interior vaults carry ceiling frescoes painted in 1764 by Josef Hager, including angels bringing Saint Peter the key to the Kingdom of Heaven.
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