Church of Saint Anne (Horšovský Týn)

The Church of Saint Anne on Vršíček is a small pilgrimage church standing on a wooded hill roughly one kilometre west of Horšovský Týn, in western Bohemia. The building combines a late Gothic core with later Renaissance and Baroque alterations, and it is protected as a first-category regional heritage monument. For centuries the hilltop has drawn pilgrims and travellers looking for a quiet spot away from the small town at its foot.

Where does the legend of Saint Anne come from?

The story behind the site goes back to around the year 1500. According to local legend, a resident named Křečka was ploughing the hill when he unearthed a small dark wooden statue of Saint Anne, roughly half a cubit long. He took it home, but the statue is said to have mysteriously returned to the spot where it was found — repeatedly, over the course of three years. The event was taken as a sign, sparking a cult of Saint Anne on the hill and prompting locals to build a shrine there.

When was the church built?

The foundation stone was laid in 1507. Construction took nine years, and the church was solemnly consecrated on 5 April 1516. The ceremony was performed by Peter Kraft, an auxiliary bishop of Regensburg, which shows that the new church was regarded as significant well beyond the local parish from the very start. The original Gothic structure was later enriched with Renaissance features and, still later, Baroque additions — layers that remain visible today and testify to the site's continued importance across the centuries.

What else belongs to this pilgrimage site?

The church does not stand alone. The wider pilgrimage complex on the hill also includes several smaller historic structures, some of them now reduced to ruins. The most notable are the Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre and the burial chapel of the Trauttmansdorff family, the noble house that owned the nearby Horšovský Týn chateau for generations and left a deep mark on the region's history. The presence of the family's burial chapel underlines how closely the fortunes of the hilltop church were tied to the local aristocracy.

Can you visit the church today?

The church is currently closed and does not function as a regularly accessible place of worship. Even so, the hill itself, with its cluster of pilgrimage buildings, remains a popular destination for walks and sightseeing trips, particularly for visitors interested in the region's history and the sacred architecture of the Czech-Bavarian borderland.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the Church of Saint Anne located? On a hill about one kilometre west of the centre of Horšovský Týn, in the Pilsen Region of western Bohemia.

Why is it called the church "on Vršíček"? The name refers to the small hill ("vršíček" in Czech, literally "little hill") on which the church stands.

What architectural style does the church represent? It began as a late Gothic building, later enriched with Renaissance and then Baroque modifications.

Who consecrated the church, and when? Peter Kraft, an auxiliary bishop of Regensburg, consecrated it on 5 April 1516, nine years after the foundation stone was laid in 1507.

What else is worth seeing on site besides the church itself? The Chapel of the Holy Sepulchre and the burial chapel of the Trauttmansdorff family, former owners of the Horšovský Týn chateau.

Can visitors go inside the church? No — the building is currently closed to visitors, though the grounds around it on the hill remain accessible.