Dean Church of John the Baptist

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View from the west

The deanery church of John the Baptist (Czech Děkanský kostel sv. Jana Křtitele ) is a listed church building in the Czech city ​​of Teplice . The baroque sacred building, which was built in two construction phases at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 18th century, stands on the Schlossplatz, bordering a small park. The church belongs to the Roman Catholic diocese of Leitmeritz .

As the main church of the spa town of Teplice, it is dedicated to the patron saint of medicinal springs, John the Baptist .

history

The well-preserved church on Castle Square (Zámecké náměstí) was built between 1585 and 1594 on the foundations of the first church discovered during archaeological excavations after World War II and in the 1950s, a Romanesque basilica similar to the Church of St. George at Prague Castle . These historical foundations are hidden behind a thick wall supported by struts.

The historical postcard from 1904 from Teplitz-Schönau (as the place was called until 1945) shows the palace square with the deanery church in the middle.

The church tower completed the second church in 1594, but was reduced in height in 1645 and rebuilt again in 1707. Extensive structural changes, some of which were significantly enlarged, between 1700 and 1703 in the Baroque style gave the church its present-day appearance. Master mason Kristian Lagler is said to have carried out the planning and execution of the renovation work.

The cemetery that previously existed around the church building was closed.

Renovation and reconstruction work took place in 1789, 1877 and 1890. In 2000, the facades and roofs were renewed.

Architecture and equipment

Steeple

Partial view from the south side of the church building with the stair tower in the foreground

At two thirds of its height, the church tower has a walkway that can be used as a viewing passage in summer. A round tower attached to the south contains the stairs, via which both the bell chamber and the viewing platform can be reached.

The rectangular tower narrows from the lookout walkway and is closed off by a curved hood . A lantern with an octagonal pointed turret, a tower ball and a gold-plated ornate cross as a crown is presented on it. The entire roof structure of the tower is clad with copper sheet. In the tower there are frescoes in the Renaissance style as well as the year 1594, which refer to the time of its creation.

Hear the bells.
small bell from the tower of the Church of John the Baptist

The three-part ringing of bronze bells comes from different centuries (the smallest 1480, with a label on the upper bell body and a pictorial representation in the middle; the largest bell bears the note "anno 1659" and in addition to a picture relief also an old German inscription on the cast body) .

Main church building

The central nave and the stepped aisles are closed off by a tiled pent roof. A roof ridge sits on the eastern ridge . The corners of the facade are accentuated with large corner stones and the windows are segmented. A round arch portal with a triangular gable porch and imitation columns in the west tower forms the main entrance to the church. Surrounding ledges around the towers and church buildings visually combine the structure.

Grave slabs on the church wall

The church is a three-aisled basilica with a rectangular choir . A barrel vault with reliefs and ceiling paintings forms the structural end of the choir . The main nave has a high cross vault . The narrow western side of the nave is occupied by a two-story gallery , with an organ on each floor. The galleries are curved and the balustrade is decorated with ornaments.

The side aisles are set off from the main nave with round arches on fluted slender columns. Daylight falls through five narrow achromatic arched windows on each of the long sides of the building. At the south-east end of the church there is a two-story house, which probably houses the sacristy . On the outer wall there is a Renaissance tombstone by Joan Kaplířova from 1600 (with coat of arms and an inscription in Czech), a baroque tombstone with a relief cross from 1711 and another tombstone.

altar

Altar view

The main altar takes up almost the entire chancel in width and height. It was created around 1730 and is the work of a Teplice artist whose name has not been passed down. The substructure made of dark stained wood is accentuated with gilded ornaments. Above it are five fully gilded bas-relief panels with depictions of the Last Supper , the Holy Trinity and a group of angels. They frame a painting with the baptism of Christ , which is assigned to the painter Peter Brandl . Above the reliefs and the painting framed in gold follow variously shaped structures. On and in front of both sides of the altar table, four carved and spiraling narrow columns rise up (originally gilded, white since 2000). As a connecting end, they each have an angel, which in turn holds a large central halo with the eye of God above the altar. The columns and the entire altar structure give visitors to the church the feeling of having a gate to heaven in front of them.

Immediately in front of the altar, the apostles Peter and Paul stand freely on carved consoles on the north and south sides , also completely gilded and taller than a man.

organ

Organ on the upper gallery

The photos of the interior of the church show that there is an organ on the first floor of the west galleries as well as on the second floor. The upper one is provided with a simple prospectus made of light wood , the lower viewing area is more baroque in design with gold-plated ornaments and an openwork grille. Their very different design suggests that they come from different construction periods. (A reference to the workshops and the possible common playability could not be found.)

Paintings, pulpit, side altars, other things

The interior also includes paintings by Wenzel Lorenz Reiner . The church also houses the gravesites of the Wchynsky, Aldringen and Clary-Aldringen families.

The pulpit is decorated with bas-reliefs with the evangelists , on the sound cover there is a statue of Christ. In the side aisles there are two confessionals from the beginning of the 18th century, made by Teplice artists. They also show figurative decorations of various saints.

The side altars date almost exclusively from the period around 1730 and are dedicated to St. John of Nepomuk , St. Prokop , St. Wenceslaus and Martin and many other church patrons.

Under the north transept is the grave of the noblewoman Clary-Aldringen, in the crypt under the south aisle the tin coffin of Vchynský. Sebastian Gutštejn's tomb (1578) is located below the pews. Memorial plaques of other important Teplice residents from the 16th to 18th centuries can also be found in the nave and in the crypt.

use

The Church of John the Baptist is an active church, that is, it serves regularly for church services , baptisms, weddings, and other celebrations of the parish. But concerts also take place here.

Web links

Commons : Deanery Church of John the Baptist  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ History of St. John's Church on teplice.sdb.cz (Czech only) , p. 1.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f This information comes from a personal visit to the church in 2000 with some handwritten notes and with the help of the Czech Wikipedia page .
  3. ↑ Side views of St. John's Church on skaralnypamatky.cz

Coordinates: 50 ° 38 ′ 15.9 ″  N , 13 ° 49 ′ 38.5 ″  E