Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary, Cultural monument church in Hory Matky Boží, Czech Republic.
The Church of the Name of the Virgin Mary is an early Baroque Roman Catholic church in Hory Matky Boží, built probably in 1637. Its rectangular nave measures 9.13 m by 6.80 m and is covered by a saddle roof of galvanised sheet metal strips. A tower with a slender copper-clad onion dome adjoins the nave on the west, and a rectangular sacristy stands on the north side.
Gold was panned and mined here in the early Middle Ages, and the town of Hory Matky Boží grew into a centre of silver-ore mining in the early 16th century; in 1522 King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia granted it town, market and brewing rights. The church of the Name of the Virgin Mary was probably built in 1637 in early Baroque style. In 1737 the nave was rebuilt and the tower added, and in 1833 a new sacristy replaced the old one. Since 1964 it has been protected as a cultural monument; after the local parish was dissolved at the end of 2019 it became a filial church of the Velhartice parish.
The village name Hory Matky Boží ("Mountains of the Mother of God") is linked by legend to the wooden statue of the Virgin and Child, 0.95 m tall and carved in the 16th century, that dominates the main altar. Legend attributes the carving to a woodcarver from Stodůlky. Two side Baroque altars hold wooden figures of the Scourged Christ and Saint John of Nepomuk.
The church stands in Hory Matky Boží near Velhartice, in the Plzeň Region; the nave measures 9.13 m by 6.80 m, with the tower adjoining it on the west and the sacristy on the north. Since the parish was dissolved at the end of 2019 it has been a filial church of the Velhartice parish, so services are occasional rather than weekly.
The 0.95 m wooden statue of the Virgin and Child on the main altar dates from the 16th century; a local legend attributes it to a carver from Stodůlky. Two side Baroque altars hold wooden figures of the Scourged Christ and Saint John of Nepomuk.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,602 contributors worldwide.