Church of Saint Anne, Roman Catholic parish church in Kukleny, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
The Church of Saint Anne stands on Denisovo Square in Kukleny, on the old road to Prague. It is a late-baroque structure built between 1777 and 1784, with two towers that were originally meant to carry domes but were given simple drum roofs because the Minorites learned their monastery would be abolished. The church has been a listed cultural monument since 1964.
The Minorites founded a church and hospital on an Elbe island in 1344; after Empress Maria Theresa's fortress forced its demolition in 1776, they laid the cornerstone of the present church in Kukleny on 2 July 1777. The cross was raised on the east tower on 9 October 1781, and the building was completed in 1784. The monastery was dissolved in 1789, and a 1967 gale brought down the cemetery-side tower, which was never rebuilt.
The church is dedicated to Saint Anne, and its annual parish feast is held around her feast day on 26 July. The building stands on Denisovo Square along the old road from Hradec Králové to Prague, and the former monastery buildings next to it later served as the parish house and a school.
The church stands on Denisovo Square in Kukleny, on the old road from Hradec Králové to Prague, so it can be reached on foot from the surrounding streets or by car. A side entrance was requested for safety reasons in 1907 and again as late as 1913, but the authorities refused each time, so access is through the main door. The tower clock needed winding, and in 1901 a bell-ringer was granted an annual payment of 20 K for the task.
The church's bells were requisitioned during World War I: a 1917 inventory listed a large bell 120 cm across and 1,050 kg, a 20 kg Sanctus bell and a 15 kg death bell. A 1967 gale tore down the tower facing the cemetery; it was given a temporary roof and never rebuilt.
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