Church of Saint Barbara

The Church of Saint Barbara in Okrouhlé Hradiště is a small Baroque church built on the site of an ancient Slavic hillfort, in the hamlet of Šipín on the edge of the village, a short distance from the spa town of Konstantinovy Lázně in western Bohemia. The site is unusual because it stacks two very different layers of history on top of each other — a thousand-year-old defensive earthwork and an eighteenth-century sacred building — which makes it one of the more interesting, if lesser-known, stops in the Tachov region.

Where exactly is the church located?

The church stands within the cadastral territory of Okrouhlé Hradiště, a village that has been administratively part of the Konstantinovy Lázně municipality in the Tachov District, Plzeň Region, since 1980. The hamlet where the church actually stands is called Šipín and occupies a promontory above the Úterský stream, with the watercourse wrapping around two sides of it. The village of Okrouhlé Hradiště was first mentioned in writing in 1369, and its name is not accidental — it directly references the hillfort on which the church now stands.

What lies beneath the church?

Before any church existed here, the hill was occupied by an early medieval Slavic hillfort built at an elevation of roughly 430–435 metres. The fortified area, covering about 1.5 hectares, was protected on its eastern approach by a ditch and a pair of ramparts, remnants of which survive today as earthen mounds. Pottery fragments unearthed in 1935 allowed archaeologists to date the fortification's use to somewhere between the tenth and thirteenth centuries, while some finds hint at even earlier activity going back to the late Bronze Age. In other words, the hill was inhabited long before the current church was ever built.

What does the church itself look like?

The present building is a single-nave Baroque church with a square-plan bell tower topped by a bulbous, onion-shaped dome set to the northwest of the main facade. Its building history is layered: some sources trace an earlier Gothic church on this spot back to the beginning of the fourteenth century, a structure that had fallen into disrepair by the early eighteenth century. The current late Baroque building replaced it in the second half of the eighteenth century, and the tower was later reworked in the Neo-Romanesque style in the mid-nineteenth century. Next to the church stand a former parsonage, an old gamekeeper's lodge, and a former schoolhouse, together forming a small cluster of buildings inside the old hillfort grounds.

Is it worth the detour?

The church and the surrounding hillfort area are freely accessible, with no restrictions on entry. It's a rewarding stop for anyone who likes to combine heritage sites with time outdoors — a signposted nature trail called Šipín runs through the adjoining landscape park along the Úterský stream and is popular with walkers and cyclists. In recent years the building has been looked after by local volunteers who have gradually been rescuing it from further decay; regional press has described it as a half-forgotten but still very much alive gem of the area. The spa town of Konstantinovy Lázně is only about two kilometres away, making it easy to pair a visit here with a spa stay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where exactly is the Church of Saint Barbara located? In the hamlet of Šipín, within the cadastral territory of the village of Okrouhlé Hradiště, part of the Konstantinovy Lázně municipality in the Tachov District, Plzeň Region, Czech Republic.

Does the church stand on the site of an old fortification? Yes, it sits directly within an early medieval Slavic hillfort, whose ramparts and ditch have partly survived to this day.

What architectural style is the current building? A late Baroque, single-nave church with a bell tower crowned by an onion-shaped dome; the tower was rebuilt in the Neo-Romanesque style in the mid-nineteenth century.

Can visitors explore the site on their own? Yes, the hillfort grounds and the church are freely accessible, and a marked nature trail along the Úterský stream passes nearby.