Zvonice, Wooden bell tower in Rviště, Czech Republic

Zvonice is a wooden bell tower of post-and-beam construction with a log-built ground floor on a low octagonal stone base, standing at the edge of Rviště by road III/3121. The log section rises into a tall octagonal tent roof, from which a square prismatic tower with a low conical cap projects; the roofs are covered with shingles and the tower and bell stage are boarded with planks. The entrance ends in a segmental arch.

The first wooden bell tower is documented in 1753 and was listed in good condition in the village property inventory of 1853. It originally stood in the centre of Rviště and served to announce natural disasters, especially fires, after the Fire Patent introduced fire-prevention measures. In 1960 the original was demolished and a copy of the 18th-century tower was built on the edge of the village by road III/3121.

The bell was rung to warn of disasters, especially fire, which is why the tower arose after the Fire Patent of the Habsburg monarchy ordered fire-prevention measures. A marked hiking trail from Brandýs nad Orlicí through Zátvor and Rviště to Ústí nad Orlicí passes the tower.

The tower stands at the edge of Rviště by road III/3121, where the 1960 copy replaced the original village-centre structure. A marked hiking trail from Brandýs nad Orlicí through Zátvor and Rviště to Ústí nad Orlicí passes the tower. The bell chamber is not open to visitors; the exterior, with its shingled roof and boarded tower, is what can be seen.

The tower standing by the road today is not the original: the 18th-century bell tower was demolished in 1960 and a copy was built at the edge of the village. The copy differs from the original in its shingled roof, which reached lower, and in the taller, steeper conical roof.