Church of the Nativity of Virgin Mary / Kostel Narození Panny Marie - Príbor (North Moravia)
N 49° 38.369 E 018° 08.710
34U E 293890 N 5502462
Monumental Church of the Nativity of Virgin Mary (Kostel Narození Panny Marie), for a far visible landmark of town Príbor, is not only "living" textbook of architectural styles, but also parish church of local Roman Catholic parish.
Waymark Code: WMQ4FN
Location: Moravskoslezský kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 12/18/2015
Views: 21
Monumental Church of the Nativity of Virgin Mary (Kostel Narození Panny Marie), for a far visible landmark of town Príbor, is not only "living" textbook of architectural styles from Romanesque to Baroque, but also parish church of local Roman Catholic parish.
Church of the Nativity of Virgin Mary is late-Gothic structure with nave and two aisles with an indented polygonal closed presbytery. The key part of the church was built around 1400, but some Romanesque core walls were constructed in the half of the 13th century. Church is equipped by a square tower in front of the western facade and side chapels coming from the 17th century built on a trefoil ground plan.
The main structure of the church is splitted into parts and supplemented by other smaller building extensions - sacristy, St. Urban’s chapel, Gethsemane’s garden and others. The church tower is covered with a dome with an open lantern; gabled roof of the presbytery supports the sanctums turret. Side chapels are covered with helmets and lightened with polygonal lanterns. The rounded clock faces from the 18th century are located on the 4th floor on the southern, western and northern side of the tower.
A Renaissance extension of the last two floors of the tower was added to the building at the end of 16th century. The facades of the building are smooth, composed of baseboards and crown mouldings only.
The church’s interior was fitted with a number of valuable architectonical details (Renaissance porches in the presbytery, conical front of the oratory, Renaissance bars in front of St. Urban's chapel, figural gravestone, stone coats of arms of Olomouc’s bishop Stanislav Pavlovský and archbishop of Prague Martin Medek; the Rococo objects of exceptional value create a big part of the church furnishings (pews, altars, church rostrum, choir stalls ...).
The Renaissance reshaping of the church is a work of various Italian architects and artists, who had settled in Príbor during the 16th century.
The church was partially reconstructed in the mid-19th century (1852 to 1854) and completely renovated in 2001.