Chapel of Saint Anne, Religious chapel in Pivonice, Czech Republic.
The Chapel of Saint Anne is a small, free-standing rectangular building of plain exterior, unoriented, in Pivonice. It has a narrower, three-sided presbytery topped by a small bell turret with an onion-shaped roof, and a small sacristy attached to the left side of the presbytery. Inside, the presbytery's shape differs from its outer form because of a Baroque rebuilding, and it keeps Rococo painting mainly in yellow.
Pivonice grew as a settlement below Zubštejn Castle, and a small chapel, likely serving first as a bell tower, arose there in the 15th century. After the Thirty Years' War it was repaired partly with stone from the ruined castle. In 1755 the Bystřice parish priest František Dinter requested its enlargement; by 1832 it was neglected and near collapse, and a planned major rebuild was carried out only in reduced form. Renovation from 1995 uncovered Rococo wall paintings and 15th-century pottery, finishing in 2001, with further work in 2003–2010.
The chapel's name day of Saint Anne is still observed by locals, and the building remains consecrated for occasional services. Inside, the rococo painting discovered in 1995 under whitewash, mainly in yellow tones, was restored and is now visible in the presbytery. The 15th-century pottery found during the same works points to the site's medieval origins.
The chapel stands freely in Pivonice, a local part of Bystřice nad Pernštejnem, and is not oriented to the compass points; its narrower, three-sided presbytery with the small onion-domed bell turret faces the visitor first. A small sacristy adjoins the presbytery on the left. The building is a protected cultural monument, so the interior rococo painting is best seen when the chapel is open.
During the 1995 restoration, workers found rococo wall paintings that had been whitewashed over, probably from the rebuilding under the Bystřice parish priest František Dinter. The paintings were uncovered and restored in the chapel interior. The same work also brought to light pottery fragments dated to the 15th century.
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