Holy Trinity Church on Andělská Hora

Holy Trinity Church on Andělská Hora is one of the most striking Baroque monuments in the Karlovy Vary Region. It stands just southwest of the village, on a low hill by the old road from Karlovy Vary to Prague, and catches the eye before you even reach the castle ruins above the village. Its unusual triangular plan is not a decorative trick: the whole building was designed as a built symbol of the Holy Trinity.

The site has older sacred roots. A wooden chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary stood here in the Middle Ages and is mentioned in 1393. The present church was commissioned by Count Heřman Jakub Černín of Chudenice and built between 1698 and 1712 by the Italian-born architect Giovanni Battista Alliprandi, one of the important names of early Baroque architecture in Bohemia.

Architecture

The church is based on an equilateral triangle. The same idea shaped the former cemetery enclosure around it, so the symbolism of three was written into both the building and the surrounding sacred space. The corners hold side chapels, the bell turret is also three-sided, and the original entrances were set into three stone portals. Today the north entrance is the main usable one.

Inside, the flat-ceilinged space still keeps several valuable details. The three-sided Baroque altar comes from the workshop of Prague sculptor František Preiss and dates from shortly after 1710. The ceiling fresco of the Holy Trinity was painted by Josef Kramolín in 1753 and later repainted by Josef Zimmermann in 1905. The church also preserves historic organ work by Johann Paul Trampel and a late Gothic wooden sculpture of the Coronation of the Virgin Mary.

From pilgrimage place to cultural venue

From 1730 the church was cared for by the Trinitarian order until the reforms of Joseph II dissolved the order in 1783. Later it served as a cemetery chapel, then gradually lost its function after the cemetery was closed in 1946. Decades of neglect left the building in poor condition.

A major restoration in 2004-2005 returned the church to public life, and it reopened in July 2006. Today it is used as a cultural and community venue. One permanent exhibition, Vanished Villages of the Doupov Mountains, recalls 64 settlements that disappeared after 1945 when the Hradiště military training area was created.

Admission

Practical information

Regular access is usually available in June-August on the current timetable. Groups of at least five people can arrange a visit year-round, but booking is needed at least five working days in advance. The interior is a historic monument, so expect uneven surfaces and a quiet exhibition-style visit rather than a fully serviced museum.

Directions and contacts

• Website: andelskahora.cz
• Address: Andělská Hora 6, 364 71 Andělská Hora
• GPS: 50.2004, 12.9581
• Phone: +420 731 681 187
• E-mail: podatelna@andelskahora.cz

The church stands southwest of Andělská Hora beside the main Karlovy Vary-Prague road. It is easiest by car, but the village is also reachable by bus from Karlovy Vary.