The Broumov Group of Churches and other monuments in the region 1 Bezděkov nad Metují | Church of St. Procope Although geographically Bezděkov nad Metují does not fall within the area of the Broumov re- gion, the local Church of St. Procope belongs to the so-called Broumov Group of Churches. This is because its construction was related to the operation of the Benedictines in the neighbouring region of Police. The church was built on the outskirts of the village on a hill next to the crossing of roads to Poli- ce nad Metují, Machov and Náchod. It was erected in the period 1724–27, without any doubts, on a place where an older church used to stand. Because Bezděkov was falling within the authority of the provost of Police that was subject to the Břevnov-Broumov abbey, Kilian Ignaz Dietzenhofer, the then personal architect of abbot Otmar Zinke, was charged with the design of the new building of the Church of St. Procope. The floor projec- tion of the body is a slightly prolate octagon. The rectangular chancel is ended by a semi- circular apsis and the right-angled alcoves of chapels along the southern and northern wall of the body are connected by narrow paths with sacristies on both sides of the sanctuary. The great altar in the baroque wooden framing holds the painting of Prince Ulrich Meeting St. Procope. In the attachment to this painting, St. Günter a co-patron of the church, is pictured. Two empire side altars are decorated with paintings of St. Wenceslas and Virgin Mary. On both sides of the rectangular hall, there are staircases to the organ loft and to the towers. The roof of the church is covered with eternit that has replaced the former shingles. 2 Božanov | Church of St. Mary Magdalene The original church in Božanov is mentioned in the eldest sources already in the 14th cen- tury and it was sacrificed to St. Bartholomew. The construction of the new church of St. Mary Magdalene started in 1709 pro- bably in accordance with the design by Christoph Dientzenhofer. It is not possible to ascertain to what stage the church was constructed and when the construction was interrupted because the construction accounts from the next years have not been preserved. It is deemed the construction star- ted with the eastern tower and the sanctua- ry, the old church still being used until 1735. The second construction stage performed already in accordance with the new project by Kilian Ignaz Dietzenhofer started after rather a long pause in 1733 and the church was finished as a whole in 1743. The Church of St. Mary Magdalene stands in the middle of the village near the crossing of two historical roads in the dominant position on a hill in the middle of a churchyard enclosed by stone wall. The body of the church is based on the floor projection of a qudrate with cut corners. The cross-wise oval premises of the entrance hall with organ loft and chancel are parallely connected to the main axle. The great new-baroque altar dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. In the middle of the altar retable, there is a statue of St. Mary Magdalene, the patron of the church, the statues of St. Joseph and St. John the Baptist are on the sides. In recent years, the church was renovated within the programme of saving the architectural heritage approved in 1997. 3 Broumov | Church of St. Peter and St. Paul and Gothic Fresco The Church of St. Peter and St. Paul was first mentioned in 1258. In 1452, the church caught fire, but was restored four years later. The Square Tower dates back to 1477. In 1682, Abbot Tomáš Sartorius had the church reconstructed to its current form. The neo-Renaissance artwork on the ceiling and in the interior was created by Broumov painter Adolf Tinsmann after 1891. Near the church, there is a rectory with the Fresco of the Last Judgement, one of the oldest heritage sites in Broumov. The fresco is located in the under- ground part of the rectory, perhaps in the loca- tion of the original charnel house at the former cemetery within the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. The fresco artwork dates to around 1320. The fresco is divided into three zo- nes. The upper zone is dominated by Christ in a mandorla, the right section depicts the Virgin Mary and the left section depicts John the Baptist. The middle section depicts Wise Virgins on the left carrying lit lamps towards an angel and Foolish Virgins on the right with inverted lamps. Devils are sitting on the Vir- gins‘ shoulders and are being pulled by other devils, probably into the jaws of Leviathan. The bottom section depicts a meeting of three living and three dead, contention for the soul, and Satan pulling a drunkard into Hell by the hair. According to the Glossa ordinaria, the Wise Virgins symbolise Christian souls turning to God with five of their virtues, while the Foolish Virgins personify five bodily pleasures leading to perdition. 4 Broumov | Church of St. Wenceslas At the place where the Church of St. Wen- ceslas stands today, the Broumov protestants built their wooden church at the beginning of the 17th century. The dispute of the abbot with the citizens of the town over its closing in 1618 even became one of the external impulses towards the Prague defenestration of vice-gerents. After the church had been substantially damaged by fire in the course of the Thirty Years War, its ruins were pulled down and abbot Sartorius built a chapel there to the honor of St. Wenceslas. However, the chapel came under destruction during another great fire of the town in 1684 and abbot Zin- ke decided to build a new church in its place. He entrusted Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer with its construction. The church was finished in 1729 and it was sacrificed to St. Wen- ceslas. It received the decoration only under abbot Benno Löbl in 1784, the author of an extensive fresco Glorification of St. Wenceslas is the Silesian painter Felix Antonín Scheffler. The painting on the great altar picturing St. Wenceslas and St. John of Nepomuk was pain- ted in the 19th century by Wilhelm Kandler. The floor projection of the church is one of elon- gated Greek cross, the right-angled area of the chancel is followed by a semicircular apsis. At the beginning of the fifties of the 20th century, the church was used as a warehouse. A ruined building with broken windows came on depressively. After demanding construction works including the renovation of the Scheffler´s fresco, the restored church was opened again on the feast of St. Wenceslas on September 28, 1995. 5 Broumovské stěny | The Chapel of Virgin Mary On the Broumov Cliffs range the Chapel of Virgin Mary was built in the years 1732–33 according to the project of Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer. Even in 1670 an abbot Thomas Sartorius had a wooden cross with a gilt metal star raised on this place which was originally placed on the monastery spire destroyed du- ring the fire in 1664. The outer shape of the chapel itself is a pentacle as well. The building of engraved sandstone is thanks to its lovely location a landmark of the wide surroundings. It is accessible over an arched bridge that leads along the path in the rocky cleft. The surroundings of the chapel have been laid out as a scenic terrace that offers a splendid view over the whole Broumov basin. In 1786 was the chapel by order of the emperor Jose- ph II. closed, sold and was to be demolished. Its new owner took the roof down, took the altars and pews away and the rest of the building was falling into disrepair until the half of the 19th century when the ruined chapel was bought by an abbot Jan Nepomuk Rotter. He had it restored and in 1855 the Chapel of Virgin Mary was consecrated again. At the same time a pub in the Alpine style with arched cellars cut in the rocks was built nearby and thanks to the fast development of tourism the Broumov Cliffs range has become a frequent tourist destination. Every year a traditional fair takes place here on the day of the Virgin Mary holiday (5th August). 6 Heřmánkovice | Church of All Saints The Church stands on a small hill in the mi- ddle of a churchyard above the village and it is a dominant of the surrounding landscape. The foundation stone of the church was laid down on November 8, 1722 and abbot Otmar Zinke chose Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer to be the author of the project. The shell construc- tion was finished and sacrificed in 1723 and for another three years, they were working on the completion of the building and the interi- or works. The floor projection of the church is one of an oblong octagon with dished walls. The organ loft is followed by a tower with round corners, at the end of the body, there is a narrow chancel, behind which there is a rectangular sanctuary. The church ceiling is painted with a view to the heavens, portraits of the four evangelists are painted in semi- circular fields and angels in elliptical bracing. The original painting was created shortly after the church erection, however, it was pain- ted over in 1865. The inside equipment da- tes back to the period of baroque and empire, the more valuable movables however had to be moved out and stored safely in consideration of the growing number of robberies in the Broumov churches after 1990.