Church of Saints James and Philip, Old Catholic church in Tábor, Czech Republic
The Church of Saints James and Philip is a single-nave church with a three-sided presbytery and a vestibule at the west facade, where a Gothic portal opens. It stands on a rectangular plan in the northeast corner of the park below Kotnov Castle. Inside, three Baroque altars from the early 18th century fill the presbytery, and a wooden gallery on two columns spans the western part of the nave.
First mentioned in 1388, when canon Ondřej z Ústí founded two altars in the chapel. It was demolished during the Hussite wars together with Kotnov Castle, rebuilt, burned by Prussian troops in 1744 and rebuilt in Baroque style in 1746 as a church on the initiative of dean Pavel Klášterský. The town acquired it in 1973 and leased it to the Old Catholic Church from 1997.
Since 1997 the church has been leased to the Old Catholic Church, and the first Old Catholic service was held on 6 July 1997, the feast of Jan Hus. On 1 May 2025 Bishop Pavel Benedikt Stránský consecrated a bell named "Mistr Jan Hus" here. The building also retains tombstones from the second half of the 16th century.
The church stands in the northeast corner of the park behind the former Kotnov Castle, entered through four park gates; Korandova Street borders it to the west, Na Parkánech to the north. The park slopes from south to north, and a massive retaining wall on the east drops toward the Lužnice River. Old Catholic services are held here, so time a visit outside them.
The church is the oldest surviving religious building in Tábor, first mentioned in 1388 when canon Ondřej z Ústí founded two altars in the then-chapel. It was wrecked in the Hussite wars together with Kotnov Castle but, unlike the castle, was rebuilt.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 92,575 contributors worldwide.