Church of the Visitation of Our Lady, Baroque church building in Vimperk I, Czech Republic.
The Church of the Visitation of Our Lady is an asymmetric hall church with two naves of different sizes, both oriented east, and a square tower set off-axis in the southwest corner. The main nave, 16.4 m long and 10.6 m wide, is vaulted by four bays of Milevsko-type net vaulting whose twice-grooved ribs meet in circular bosses. The presbytery lies off the nave's axis, closed on five sides of an octagon, and the Chapel of St Anne on the north side is vaulted with star vaulting and ends in an apse.
The church originated in the second half of the 13th century as a single-nave flat-roofed structure with a tower in the southwest corner. In 1365 Petr of Janovice funded a Gothic rebuilding of the presbytery, sacristy and nave. Around 1500 the nave was vaulted and the Chapel of St Anne added; the tower took its present form around 1600, dated by the MDC monogram. The last major works were roof and facade repairs in 1978–1979.
The church is the parish church of the Vimperk parish and one of the oldest buildings in town. Its name refers to the Visitation of the Virgin Mary. Visitors can look for the painted rosettes with the year MDC on the tower, and the chapel of St Anne on the north side, added after 1500 and covered with star vaulting and wall paintings.
The church sits in the heart of Vimperk and is easy to reach on foot, especially via Kostelní street. Visitors should know that access times may depend on service schedules and that photography inside may be restricted during religious activities.
The church's south porch is vaulted with a cross rib vault carrying stucco ornament, and the tower bears painted rosettes dated MDC (1600), marking the tower's remodelling around that year. A blocked twin window beneath the bell tower and a round choir window point to the building's 13th-century origin.
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