Exaltation of the Holy Cross church in Františkovy Lázně, Roman Catholic church in Františkovy Lázně, Czech Republic.
The Exaltation of the Holy Cross church is a single-nave Empire-style building on a rectangular plan, completed in 1820. A shallow portico with two massive Tuscan columns fronts the facade, topped by a small tower on the gable. The flat-ceiled nave ends in a conch-vaulted presbytery flanked by rectangular annexes.
Emperor Franz I of Austria commissioned this Empire-style church starting in 1815 to serve the expanding population of the developing spa resort. Its completion in 1820 represented a key moment in the town's growth during that era.
The church is served by the Knights of the Cross with the Red Star, who took over its spiritual administration in 1814 after Emperor Franz I's visit. Its parish priests have included František Radkovský (1972–1990), later bishop of Plzeň, and Pavel Baxant (1991–1998), brother of the Litoměřice bishop Jan Baxant. The building became a parish church in 1868, the year after Františkovy Lázně was raised to town status.
The building sits on Ruská street in the town center and is easy to reach on foot. Visitors should know that regular services take place here, so checking ahead for times helps you plan a visit around active worship.
The three bells in the tower were not made for this church: they were transferred from other, demolished churches, and the oldest dates from 1506. The tower clock and the bells were repaired in 2004, during the overall reconstruction of the church.
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