Church of Saint Mary Magdalene, Cultural monument and church building in Volary, Czech Republic.
The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene is a Baroque pilgrimage church in the Svatá Magdaléna settlement of Volary, built in 1752–1754 to plans by Anton Erhard Martinelli and executed by František Jakub Fortin. It stands at 890 m on the northeastern slope of Větrný mountain, over 100 m above the Blanice valley near Zbytiny. Its tower, originally with a pear-shaped cupola, received a pyramidal roof in 1797.
A hermitage with a chapel stood here by 1395; the chapel was destroyed in the Hussite Wars and later served a glassworks settlement. In 1739 the chapel was ruinous, so Prince Josef Adam of Schwarzenberg commissioned plans from Anton Erhard Martinelli. Built by František Jakub Fortin in 1752–1754, it was consecrated on 22 July 1754, seven years after Martinelli's death.
The pilgrimage church is dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene, whose feast on 22 July brings an annual service attended by Germans resettled after the Second World War. A legend tells that a lime tree once stood where the altar now is; when felled, a figure of the saint was found inside and kept returning from Oberhaid to this spot.
The church stands alone on the northeastern slope of Větrný mountain at 890 m, about 3.5 km from Zbytiny and not in Volary itself; the site is reached on foot or by car, with no public transport at the door. A service is held each year on 22 July, the feast day, when expelled Germans return from Germany.
The tower once carried a small bell, joined by a second in 1763; in 1797 its pear-shaped cupola was replaced by a pyramid roof and a small turret above the entrance was removed. The church stands at 890 m on the slope of Větrný, over 100 m above the Blanice valley.
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