Leaning church or the deepest-sounding bell? Night of Churches invites to explore and reflect all across Czechia
Night of Churches, which takes place this Friday, is an annual nationwide event that gives visitors access to church interiors that are normally inaccessible. Churches across the country also invite people to a rich cultural programme featuring concerts and lectures.
Hundreds of churches open to public in Czech towns and villages. This year’s theme of Night of Churches is Courage. According to the organisers, it is an invitation to reflect on what it means to overcome fear, search for meaning, and take responsibility for oneself and others.
In Prague, one of the biggest attractions of the event is certainly the unique Church of the Most Sacred Heart of Our Lord, located in the Vinohrady district. The church, built in 1929 and designed by the legendary Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik, impresses visitors with its façade at first sight. Plečnik found inspiration for the construction in early Christian and ancient motifs, but its most striking feature is undoubtedly the large glass clock, which also serves as a window into the main tower. At 8 p.m., the famous building will resonate with performances by the vocal ensemble Mysterium and students of the Jaroslav Ježek Conservatory.
Mariánská Týnice in the Plzeň Region
The Museum and Gallery of Northern Plzeň Region in Mariánská Týnice also participates in the event. Local guide Hana Fryčková invites to the rich program that starts at 6 p.m.
“We will open the program with music by a Cistercian monk, there will be bell-ringing across the diocese, an art workshop for small children, and a short treasure hunt in the church and cloister areas.”
Mariánská Týnice near Kralovice is considered one of the gems of Baroque architecture in western Bohemia. The former pilgrimage site of a Cistercian monastery is now home to the Museum and Gallery of Northern Plzeň Region. The complex has been listed as a national cultural monument since 2018. The surrounding landscape, historically shaped by the Plasy Monastery, received the prestigious European Heritage Label in 2024.
29 church bells ringing in Brno
The second-largest city in Czech Republic, Brno, will take part in the festival through sound. The historic center will be filled with the ringing of 29 church bells at 5 p.m. Among other things, people will also be able to hear the bishop’s bell from the northern tower of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, which is otherwise silent.
“This bell dates from 1852, weighs nearly four thousand kilograms, has a diameter of 187 centimeters and is tuned to A-flat zero, making it the deepest-sounding bell in Brno,” says chief bell-ringer Matúš Sedlák.
Leaning Church of Saint Peter of Alcantara
In the Moravian-Silesian Region, visitors can see the leaning Church of Saint Peter of Alcantara in Karviná, also nicknamed the “Czech Pisa.”The ground beneath this church has sunk by 37 meters in just a few decades due to the collapse of mine tunnels below the site. As a result, the building now leans to the south, yet it remains standing and has become a unique and well-known tourist attraction. Its tilt is almost comparable to the world-famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, and its history is equally striking in its own way.
Wooden churches of the borderlands
Lovers of rural architecture will also find plenty to admire in the border region of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland on the slopes of the Beskid Mountains. This area is home to a network of wooden churches. In total, there are almost 20 of them, and their construction used wood from oaks, firs, and spruces. A rich program of events will include, for example, the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, located in the border village of Bystřice, as well as the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in the village of Hněvošice. This Baroque wooden church with its original interior has been protected as a cultural monument since 1958 and is listed in the Central Register of Cultural Monuments of the Czech Republic.
