One of the earliest baroque buildings in Bohemia, the church of the Holy Trinity at Zahořany near Křešice was built between 1653 and 1657 by the Italian architect Bernardo Spineta from nearby Litoměřice.
The church and its campanile were commissioned by Jan de la Crone, a marshall of the Imperial forces during the Thirty Years’ War. According to local tradition, the noisy crowing of a cockerel had alerted the marshall to the presence of opposiition Swedish forces crossing the Elbe under cover of darkness in the valley below. Having successfully defended the position, the marshall ordered that the church be constructed in thanksgiving.
During the nineteenth century, large vertical cracks began to appear in the truncated nave of the church, and the subsequent century witnessed continued damage to the interior stucco and exterior plaster and stonework. Although funds have been raised for its repair, this beautiful and historic church remains in a state of terrible dilapidation.
Published by the Prague Vitruvius.
published: 1. 10. 2017