Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Páleč, Religious monument in Páleč, Czech Republic.
The Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Páleč is an early Gothic church of the tribune type, built in 1333. A single nave is closed by a tower to the west and a lower presbytery to the east; the west facade has a pointed portal, three windows with Gothic tracery and stepped buttresses, and the tower carries a four-sided pyramidal roof. A sacristy with one pointed window stands on the north side.
The early Gothic church was built in 1333 on the commission of Jan of Dražice, Bishop of Prague, and given to the Augustinian canons of Roudnice. In the 15th century it passed to non-Catholic hands after the Hussite wars disrupted the parish. In 1706 it was bought by the Metropolitan Chapter of Prague. It was restored in 1889, and in 1901 its Renaissance bell tower was demolished.
The church is a filial church of the Páleč parish, so regular services are not held here; it is used for occasional Masses and pilgrimages. Its dedication to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary links it to the September feast, and the 1890 polychrome interior and pseudo-Gothic altars were funded to restore its Gothic appearance.
The church stands in Páleč, in the Central Bohemian Region, and is a filial church of the Roman Catholic parish; it does not hold regular daily opening. Visitors enter through the south portal, whose 16th-century heraldic panel faces the village. Access is easiest around services, so arrange a visit through the parish beforehand.
The floor was probably raised during the renovations, burying the reliefs and tombstones beneath it. A carved 16th-century panel above the south portal carries the coat of arms of Jan of Dražice, the Prague bishop who commissioned the church in 1333.
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