Church of St. Michael the Archangel / Kostel Sv. Michaela archandela - Chrudim (East Bohemia) - Roman Catholic Churches on Waymarking.com

The small late-Gothic-Renaissance Church of St. Michael the Archangel (Kostel Sv. Michaela archandela), consecrated in 1521 as a cemetery church, is located in the New Town of Chrudim in Michalský park (Michael's park). The Church, administered by Chrudim Roman Catholic parish as a filial church, is currently without regular services.

The church was consecrated in the second half of 1521 (around the feast of St. Michael on September 29) and a bell was cast in honor of St. Michael. To this day, a mensa, one of two bells and a crucifix have been preserved from the time of its foundation. The church was a cemetery from the beginning, there are also mentions of a wooden morgue and an outdoor pulpit. The ossuary was added later in 1544 in the lower left corner of the cemetery. The church was affected by two fires, in 1611 and 1811. After the first fire a new pulpit and morgue were built, this time made of stone, during the second fire the church tower burned down, during the rebuilding of which one of the bells was cast again. Between 1670 and 1685, under the deanery of Samuel Václav Hattaš, the church underwent internal renovations. Several painted epitaphs and stone tombstones also date from this period. The church was repaired under the direction of architect František Schmoranz in leetch in 1856 and 1859 was. At that time, a new gable was built, the side south entrance was walled up and the outer stone pulpit was abolished. The last extensive repairs took place from 1914 to 1916 and were carried out by the builder Josef Kubicka. The church has remained in this form to this day.

St. Michael is a typical representative of a single-nave late-Gothic-Renaissance towerless church with high gables and a sanctuary. The quality and originality surpasses buildings of the same type in the area. Authentic structures from the time of construction are largely preserved, such as the western portal, tracery in the windows, the vault system of the nave and the presbytery, the truss, 2 Gothic altar canteens, etc. A unique set of stone tombstones is walled up in the outer masonry of the nave.

The church has a gabled roof with a turret topped by a metal cross. The total height of the church with a turret and a cross is about 25 m. The church has marl paving. The inner length of the church is 21 m, the width of the nave is about 8 m, the width of the presbytery is over 5 m. The nave has three rib-vaulted fields, the presbytery of the same height has one field and a chancel. The keystones of the vaults are decorated with stars and rosettes.

Source: excerpted and translated from Wikipedia and National Heritage Institute portal.