Church of Saint Anne, Baroque church in České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
The Church of Saint Anne stands on Kněžská Street, its side wall facing the street, with a rectangular presbytery and the former Capuchin monastery behind it. The church lost its original triangular Capuchin gable in a Neoclassical remodelling of 1843–1844. Inside, the former nave now serves as a concert hall: 31 white acoustic canopies, each weighing about 30 kg and hung by three or four steel cables from the barrel vault, float beneath the ceiling.
The foundation stone of the Capuchin monastery church was laid in June 1615, and the church was completed in 1620 and consecrated on 1 February 1621. The convent was dissolved in 1788 under Josephinian reforms, and the church remained closed for over 15 years before reopening in 1804. In 1843–1844 it was remodelled in Neoclassical style, losing its typical Capuchin triangular gable. In 1988 it became the property of the South Bohemian Philharmonic and was converted into the Otakar Jeremiáš Concert Hall.
Since 1988 the former church has been the Otakar Jeremiáš Concert Hall, home stage of the South Bohemian Chamber Philharmonic, founded in 1981 and the region's only professional orchestra. The hall also hosts the traditional graduations of the Faculty of Education of the University of South Bohemia. The name honours the composer Otakar Jeremiáš.
The hall is not a parish church: it belongs to the South Bohemian Philharmonic and is used for concerts and university graduations. Enter from Kněžská Street; the former church faces the street with its side wall, and the monastery area lies behind the presbytery. The 2020–2021 renovation removed the balconies and now seats 172.
The church has not served a parish since the Capuchin convent was dissolved in 1788; it was closed for over 15 years and only reopened in 1804. Since 1988 it has belonged to the South Bohemian Philharmonic as the Otakar Jeremiáš Concert Hall. Its 1988 organ, built by Rieger-Kloss as Opus 3602, has three manuals and 45 stops.
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