Church of Assumption of the Virgin Mary / Kostel nanebevzetí Panny Marie - Chrudim (East Bohemia) - Medieval Churches on Waymarking.com

Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary (Kostel nanebevzetí Panny Marie ), a Gothic three-aisle basilica from the end of the 14th century with with a western two-tower façade, is a key historical and architectural monument and skyline landmark of the town Chrudim.

The main Chrudim church, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, has very old origin. The presbytery of the church, which originally served as the chapel of the neighboring Royal castle, was probably built before the founding of Chrudim as a town. Church was founded before 1349 on the site of the castle of the Royal Dowry Town and completed at the end of the 14th century. The eterior of the church has changed significantly over the centuries of its existence. There were two church spiers from the beginning, but each of them had a different shape and height. From the front view of the church, the left tower is called Cerná vež (Black tower), the right tower is called Trubacka (Trumpeter's Tower). The condition of this tower was permanently bad. The floor of the trumpeter's apartment collapsed in April 1630 and his wife died in the rubble. Lightning struck the Trubacka and both towers burned down with the church truss to the presbytery in May 1702. After the Baroque repairs, both towers were the same height and with an onion roof.

A Baroque stair parapet with statues of saints was erected in front of the church in 1727. When the storm dropped the top of the south tower in 1740, a painting of Salvator with a beam halo was painted on the shield between the towers during the repair. The church persisted in this state until 1850, when on February 22, in a severe storm, lightning struck the south tower again, the roof of which burned down and collapsed. The tower was then provided with a roof in the form of a low pyramid, and in 1851 the second tower was modified in the same way. The complete purist neo-Gortic reconstruction of the church was entrusted to František Schmoranz in 1857, and was completed in 1880. This was also the last work on the outside of the church, which thus received the form in which we know it today.

The church, built in the rising terrain and oriented to the east, is a large basilical structure with supporting pillars, built of marl and sandstone. The main nave is covered by a gabled roof with a sanctuary turret, the ailses by a counter roofs. The façade is dominated by a pair of corner prismatic towers 62 m high, the entrance is provided by a portal with with nested arches and a sandstone tympanum with sculptura relief of the Virgin Mary. Above the portal there is a large front window illuminating the church choir.

At present, the church is so-called "living church". Regular Roman Catholic services of the parish of Chrudim, occasional concerts and other cultural events take place here. The church is also open to the public from June to September.

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