Church of Saint James the Great is a church in
Beroun
Beroun (; german: Beraun) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. It lies at the confluence of the Berounka and Litavka rivers. Beroun creates a conurbation with Králův Dvůr, former par ...
in the
Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It is situated on the western end of the
Husovo Square near the Plzeňská Gate. The church has been classified as a national cultural heritage since 1958.
History
It was built in the thirteenth century and until the sixteenth century, it was surrounded by a cemetery. The church survived several fires and was pillaged by the Swedes before the
Treaty of Westphalia was signed. In the seventeenth century, a bell tower was added to the church on its southern side. In the year 1680, a
plague pillar was erected in front of the entrance, as 341 citizens of the town – one half of its population – were killed by the disease.
Interiors
Most of the interior decorations of the church date back to the eighteenth century, which is also the date when the paintings of St.
James the Great and St.
John of Nepomuk (1744) were created by J. P. Molitor. Another of the paintings was created by the school of
Anthony van Dyck
Sir Anthony van Dyck (, many variant spellings; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Brabantian Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Southern Netherlands and Italy.
The seventh c ...
and depicts the cross of
Jesus. Other relics include the tin
baptistry
In Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned structure surrounding the baptismal ...
(1606) by Matěj Flamínek, the carved
pulpit
A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...
by Josef Šnábl and the plaque of the married couple bearing the name "Henich" from the
revolutionary year of 1848.
In 2000, four church bells were made for the church by Josef Manoušek. Each of the bells were named after Czech saints;
Wenceslaus,
Adalbert
Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names inclu ...
,
Anežka and
Ludmila. The financing came from sponsors and the citizens of the town themselves, who contributed to the fund-raising campaign. Four years later, the church was given a
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
from Beroun's former
twin town
A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.
While there are early examples of inter ...
Rijswijk in the
Netherlands.
References
{{coord, 49.96386, 14.07159, format=dms, type:landmark_region:CZ, display=title
Beroun
Churches in the Czech Republic