Church of Saint Wenceslaus, Catholic church in Libouň, Czech Republic.
The Church of Saint Wenceslaus in Libouň is a Romanesque rotunda with a cylindrical nave, a semicircular apse vaulted with a conch, and a prismatic tower. It is built of rubble masonry with a conical tile roof over the nave and a pyramidal roof over the tower. A wooden sanctus bell turret sits above the sacristy, and a small cemetery surrounds the church.
A Romanesque rotunda probably founded around 1200, it was first documented in the mid-14th century as a parish church of the Premonstratensian convent in Louňovice, founded in 1149. The parish lapsed during the Hussite wars, probably in 1420, when Žižka's troops burned the convent, yet the church survived undamaged. In 1907–1908 locals paid for new paintings and paving; repairs came in 1947, and after 2000 the altar, pulpit and wall frescoes were restored.
The village name Libouň is linked to the Premonstratensian convent at Louňovice, founded in 1149 by the monk Jindřich, to which the church belonged as a parish church from the 14th century. The parish lapsed during the Hussite wars, probably in 1420, when Žižka's troops burned the convent. A stone statue of St John of Nepomuk from 1728 stands in front of the church.
The church stands in Libouň, part of Zvěstov in the Central Bohemian Region. The entrance is on the south side of the nave, and the tower has its own external stone staircase to the first floor. A small cemetery surrounds the building, with a square mortuary on the north side.
Under the nave lies an unopened crypt that has never been explored. The three original bells, cast in 1467, 1501 and 1558, were requisitioned in World War I; replacements bought by villagers in 1929 were seized during the German occupation.
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