St Adalbert’s Church

The Church of St Adalbert on Březové Hory’s main square, named after Jan Antonín Alis, is the largest and most beautiful building in the former royal mining town of Březové Hory.
In the second half of the 19th century, rapid growth in mining activity led to a significant increase in the town’s population, and the small Church of St Prokop on the northern edge of the town was no longer able to accommodate everyone. Consequently, from as early as 1836, a contribution was deducted from the miners’ wages and paid into a special fund within the Fraternal Fund for the construction of the main church in Březové Hory. The mine management and the Březové Hory local council provided the land, and in 1886 excavation work began on the town square. However, the ancient mining works of the Kovářská shaft were soon encountered, and it became necessary to move the building site north-eastwards.

Commemorative coins, historical documents and a number of magazines were laid in the church’s foundations.
The church was completed in 1889 according to the plans of the Prague architect Bedřich Münzberger, predominantly in the Neo-Renaissance style. However, Neo-Romanesque and Neo-Baroque principles and elements are also evident here. The cost of construction exceeded 100,000 gold pieces. Named after the most profitable mine of the time, the church was consecrated to St Adalbert on 21 September 1890.

St Adalbert’s Cathedral is a three-nave structure with a raised central nave. It is terminated by a semicircular apse; the sacristy adjoins the western wall of the presbytery, whilst the baptistery used to adjoin the eastern wall.
The front façade features a prismatic tower fitted with a clock. The side walls of the outer naves are pierced by four groups of twin windows. The tower has a hipped roof, the central nave a gable roof, and the apse a semi-conical roof. The central axis of the main entrance is emphasised by two Neo-Renaissance cast-iron candelabra with lanterns. The candelabra, with moulded shafts and bases decorated with plant and floral festoons, rest on tall prismatic granite plinths. The candelabra were cast in the late 19th century by the ironworks in Komárov.

On the church façade is a polychrome relief by the academic sculptor Jindřich Čapek depicting the Virgin Mary with the Infant Jesus, flanked by St Adalbert and St Wenceslas.
The Infant Jesus holds a birch twig in his hands – a symbol of the silver mines of Březové Hory – hammered from pure Březové Hory silver by the goldsmith Mauder of Prague.
Beneath the relief is the original old coat of arms of Březové Hory, used until 1896, when Březové Hory was elevated to the status of a Royal Mining Town and granted a new coat of arms.
The original coat of arms features crossed miners’ hammers (the miners’ emblem) and a crescent moon (a symbol of silver) on a red field. The dome of the tower houses photographs from the church’s construction, magazines and documents relating to the church’s founding.
On the inner side walls of the church are three commemorative plaques honouring the heroes who sacrificed their lives to rescue miners during a mine fire in 1892, to the victims of the First World War from Březohory, and finally to those who fell and were martyred during the Second World War.

The main altarpiece depicts St Adalbert. On the left-hand side of the interior stands the altar of the Virgin Mary, whilst on the right is the altar of St Wenceslas. The pews bearing the miners’ emblem were crafted by the local master joiner Václav Jonák.
The window painting is by Jan Zachariáš Quast and depicts Our Lady of Sorrows. The architect Bedřich Münzberger also designed most of the church’s furnishings – a harmonious and well-balanced ensemble that serves as a valuable example of historicist ecclesiastical arts and crafts from the late 19th century.

St Adalbert’s Church dominates the square; the stylistic unity of the building and its furnishings is also particularly significant. In recognition of its value, it was designated a listed building by the Ministry of Culture in 2006.

Text: Mgr. Jiří Schmidt 

Address:
Roman Catholic Parish of Příbram – Březové Hory
, Church of St Adalbert
, Fr Robert Cieszkowski
, tel. 318 622 203, email: robert.cieszkowski@seznam.cz

Services:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 6.00 pm;
Sunday: 9.00 am

The Příbram – Březové Hory parish now administers the area previously managed by the Slivice parish, which belongs to the Diocese of České Budějovice (the churches in Slivice, Milín, Maková Hora and Pečice).

More information here