Kościół pw. św. Wacława w Broumovie, Baroque church in Nové Město, Czech Republic

The Church of Saint Wenceslaus is a Baroque church built into a row of houses near the former lower gate of Broumov. Its ground plan is an elongated Greek cross with rounded corners, and the facade is divided by a cornice, with a main entrance flanked by two Tuscan pilasters and an arched window above. Inside, frescoes from 1784 by Felix Anton Scheffler depict the apotheosis of Saint Wenceslaus, and the main altar holds a 19th-century painting of Saints Wenceslaus and John of Nepomuk by Wilhelm Kandler.

Protestant townspeople began a Lutheran church near the lower gate after Rudolf's Majesty, but Abbot Wolfgang Selender had it closed in 1622. That church burned in the Thirty Years' War; Abbot Tomáš Sartorius built a St. Wenceslaus chapel on the site in 1676, which burned in 1684. Abbot Othmar Zinke commissioned the present church to Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer's design, completed in 1729.

The church is dedicated to Saint Wenceslaus, the patron of Bohemia, whose feast is celebrated here on 28 September; the building was re-consecrated on that day in 1995. Mass is still held in the church on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. The interior frescoes of 1784 by Felix Anton Scheffler depict the apotheosis of Saint Wenceslaus.

The church stands in a row of houses near the site of the former lower town gate, so its facade is easy to miss from the street. Mass is held on Wednesdays at 5 p.m.; at other times the interior may be closed, as the building served as a warehouse after 1950. Look for the Tuscan pilasters dividing the facade into three parts.

The building is part of a group of Baroque churches in the Broumov area that together form a rare example of a complete architectural ensemble from that era. This collection of several religious structures built during the same period in one region is unusual and makes the site particularly valuable for those studying architectural history.