Church of Saint John the Baptist, Early Baroque church in Třebeš, Hradec Králové, Czech Republic
The Church of Saint John the Baptist in Třebeš is an early Baroque single-nave timber-framed church surrounded by a cemetery. Its rectangular nave with a gallery leads to a right-angled presbytery with chamfered corners, and an arcade walkway runs around the building. The shingle roof is topped by a later bell turret, while a separate wooden bell tower on a square stone base stands nearby.
A chapel dedicated to Jan Hus was first mentioned in 1504, when an Italian bishop consecrated its altar. In 1530 the Hradec Králové burgher Lukáš Forman had a church built on the site as a memorial to Hus and other Czech martyrs. After the Thirty Years' War it was rebuilt in 1659, demolished to its foundations in 1675 and rebuilt again; it was re-consecrated in 1692 under the name of Saint John the Baptist. It has been a protected monument since 1958.
The church was first documented in 1504, when the Italian bishop Filip de Nova Vila consecrated its altar; in 1530 the Hradec Králové burgher Lukáš Forman had a church built here in memory of Jan Hus and Jerome of Prague. It was re-consecrated in 1692 under the name of Saint John the Baptist. The wooden bell tower, dated by dendrochronology to around 1602, holds a bell cast in 1583 at the expense of mayor Martin Cejp of Peclinovce.
The church stands on Kopec Svatého Jana in Třebeš, on the southern edge of Hradec Králové, reached by the staircase known as Schodiště ke sv. Janu. The wooden bell tower stands beside it, and the surrounding cemetery is still in use. The building is a filiální (branch) church of the Hradec Králové diocese, so mass is not held daily; check the diocese's service listing before setting out.
The wooden bell tower beside the church is dendrochronologically dated to around 1602, though its oldest bell bears the year 1583. That bell was cast at the expense of long-serving Hradec Králové mayor Martin Cejp of Peclinovec by bell-founder Eliáš Stodola and given to the church, then still dedicated to Master Jan Hus.
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