Church of St. John the Baptist -

Church of St. John the Baptist

náměstí Republiky, Dvůr Králové nad Labem 544 01

Tel.:	+420 602 561 204
Web:	https://svjankrtitel.estranky.cz/

Kontaktní osoba: Josef Langfelner

This Gothic church was built on the site of the original small Romanesque church. The Romanesque church was renovated and expanded on two occasions. The church only acquired its present form in the 1890s. The church tower was added after the cornice in the year 1644, and in 1894 it was raised to its current 64 metres. The church tower contains three working bells. The largest bell dates to the year 1505, and is called St. John; it’s also referred to as “Rough” or “Large”. Another bell, called the “death knell”, is from the year 1508, and a third one, “Čapek” or “Meridian” is from the year 1540. In addition to the bells, a modern clockwork also strikes the time; its sound can be heard every fifteen minutes.

On the 16th of September 1817, Czech writer, poet, linguist, literary historian, librarian and university professor Václav Hanka “discovered” the so-called Manuscript of Dvůr Králové in the vaulted church tower dungeon - the oldest written Czech text with 14 songs from the 13th century. Although it transpired that it is most likely a fake created by Václav Hanka together with friend and poet Josef Linda, and apparently also with other people, the document significantly influenced the atmosphere of national revival and wrote the town into Czech history in a significant way. At present, the Manuscript of Dvůr Králové is stored in the library of the National Museum in Prague.

In the summer, the manuscript dungeon and church tower are accessible to visitors.

Lapidary

In the rampart wall behind the Church of St. John the Baptist you can see a walled-in Gothic semi-circular portal, probably from the hospital chapel, as well as an Empire gravestone from the year 1811, beside a richly decorated Empire portal from the year 1791 and five tombstones.

Church of St. John the Baptist on opening days or after prior agreement with guide J. Langfelner.

The church is found in the map portal here.

JFG 1408

JFG 2645

Kostel sv. Jana Křtitele

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5.6.2015 9:31:17 | read 5527x | tana

Dvůr Králové nad Labem