Church of Saint Barbara, Medieval church building in Pročevily, Czech Republic.
The Church of Saint Barbara in Pročevily is an early Baroque octagonal church with a large dome, standing on a hill above the village. Its entrances face north and south, and the bell tower behind the main altar has a door facing east toward Březnice, aligned with the Church of Saint Ignatius there. Inside are two altars: the main altar of Saint Barbara and a smaller altar of Saint Mary Magdalene. A cemetery lies on the northern side.
A pilgrimage chapel designed by architect Carlo Lurago was built here, probably between 1650 and 1660, by Jesuits from nearby Březnice. Around 1730 they had it surrounded by ambits, and later a bell tower with two bells was added. The Jesuits administered the church until 1773, when their property was confiscated under Pope Clement XIV's bull and the church was attached to the Bubovice parish, ending its pilgrim status. After 1948 it fell into decay and was restored only in 2013.
The church's dedication to Saint Barbara recalls the pilgrimages once held here; the Jesuits of Březnice cared for the chapel and had ambits built around it around 1730. A late Gothic statue of Saint Barbara, the reason for the church's name, was stolen and is no longer preserved.
The church stands on the hill above the village of Pročevily, with entrances on the north and south sides; the bell tower door behind the main altar faces east toward Březnice. A cemetery lies on the northern side. The building was restored in 2013 along with its immediate surroundings.
The tower door behind the main altar faces east toward Březnice and lies on a direct axis with the Church of St. Ignatius there, the former seat of the Jesuits who built the chapel. The larger of the two bells, cast in 1782, bears the inscription "Fudit me Josephus Perner Budwicii 1782".
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