Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Kotouň, Baroque church in Kotouň, Czech Republic
The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Kotouň is a former parish church, now a filial church of Oselce in southern Plzeň region. Its present High Baroque form was built in 1704–1705 by the Italian builder Antonio de Maggio. A bell tower from 1696 and a cemetery stand beside it, and a charnel house with a crypt lies beneath the church.
A church stood in Kotouň by the mid-14th century, originally a small Gothic building said to have been set slightly below ground level. Its present High Baroque form was built in 1704–1705 by the Italian builder Antonio de Maggio. It burned in 1730, oratories and a remodelled east façade were added in 1784, and larger repairs followed in 1915–1934.
The church was long a burial place for local nobility; 56 people lie beneath its floor, mainly the Janovský family of Janovice at Oselce, the church's patrons. The ossuary and crypt, holding 20 m³ of bones, are not open to the public.
The church stands in Kotouň, part of Oselce in the southern Plzeň region. The bell tower of 1696 and the cemetery are beside it, but the ossuary and crypt are not open to the public. The building is a filial church, so services are occasional rather than regular.
Under the church floor lie 56 burials, mainly of the Janovský family of Janovice at Oselce, patrons of the church. The adjoining ossuary holds about 20 m³ of bones, neatly stacked to a height of 180–200 cm around the mid-18th century, moved there when the medieval graves were disturbed during the Baroque rebuilding.
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