Church of Saint Anne, Cultural monument in Pustá Kamenice, Czech Republic
The Church of Saint Anne is an early Baroque Roman Catholic church built in 1680–1690 of mixed masonry on a small hill (634 m) at the eastern end of Pustá Kamenice. Its ground plan is a Greek cross modelled on a reduced copy of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome, with a 12-metre dome above the chancel, a saddle roof covered in slate and a sheet-metal-clad bell tower. The interior furnishings are neo-Gothic from the 19th century.
A wooden church built by local miners and charcoal burners was first recorded in 1350 and disappeared after 1677. The present church was built in 1680–1690 with support from František Antonín Berka of Dubá, lord of Rychmburk, whose coat of arms is on the portal. A Baroque front gable was added in 1763, and a major rebuilding followed in 1883.
Locals call it the "red chapel" for its facade colour. The church has been listed as a cultural monument since 1964 and belongs to the parish of Pustá Kamenice, administered from Kroun. Regular services are still held, and from the 18th century it also drew weddings and funerals from Rychnov, Čachnov and Ruda, as parish registers record.
The church stands on a small hill at the eastern end of Pustá Kamenice, about 600 m from the Pustá Kamenice and Pustá Kamenice zastávka railway stops on line 261. Bus stops in the village connect to Hlínsko, Čachnov and Polička. Cycle route 4105 Oldříš–Pec runs on the road below the church.
The church is a scaled-down copy of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, laid out on a Greek cross plan. Its 12-metre dome rises above the presbytery, and the coat of arms of František Antonín Berka of Dubá, lord of Rychmburk, is carved on the portal. The actor Radovan Lukavský, who had a cottage in nearby Čachnov, regularly attended services here.
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