Church of Saint Bartholomew in Rakovník

The Church of St. Bartholomew in Rakovník dominates Husovo náměstí, the town's main square, closing off its eastern side together with a freestanding bell tower right beside it. Both structures are protected as cultural monuments, and their profile has shaped the Rakovník skyline for centuries.

How did the church get its Gothic shape?

The site had defensive importance long before the current building went up. Back in 1119, Duke Vladislav I ordered the earlier Romanesque church here, dedicated to St. Nicholas, to be enclosed by walls, ramparts and a ditch, so townspeople could take shelter if attacked. That original church burned down sometime before 1349. It was rebuilt on the same spot with backing from Charles IV, who granted an indulgence to fund the reconstruction in 1367 — and it was this new building, dedicated to St. Bartholomew, that became the town's main church. Peaceful centuries didn't follow: the church was damaged and plundered three times during the Thirty Years' War, in 1620, 1634 and 1639.

Its present, thoroughly Gothic appearance is the result of a major restoration carried out between 1885 and 1896 by Josef Mocker, one of the leading Czech architects of the neo-Gothic era and a strict purist, best known for his reconstruction of Karlštejn Castle. Mocker stripped away later Baroque additions to the façade — including a Baroque gable, which he replaced with a new pseudo-Gothic one — and added two spiral staircases on the west front. What resulted is a pseudo-basilical, three-aisled church with a noticeably raised nave and a long presbytery closed by five sides of an octagon. The building measures 38.9 metres in length, 21.38 metres in width including the side aisles, and stands 15.7 metres tall.

What's worth seeing inside?

The single most valuable piece of furnishing is a richly carved stone pulpit from 1504, the work of Matyáš Rejsek — the same builder and sculptor who helped create Prague's Powder Tower. The main altar, topped with a statue of the church's patron, St. Bartholomew, dates from 1875. To its left stands a 17th-century altar of St. Joseph, and to its right a 16th-century altar of St. Wenceslas. A rare survival is a fresco cycle depicting the martyrdom of St. Bartholomew and the life of St. Dorothy, painted at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries — meaning it predates even Charles IV's rebuilding.

Why is the bell tower a separate building?

Standing apart from the church is a stone bell tower, built in 1495 specifically to house two large bells. The bigger one, known as "Bartoloměj" or "Žebrák" ("the Beggar"), is 1.32 metres tall with a diameter of 1.6 metres. The smaller bell, "Václav," measures 1.08 metres in height with a 1.37-metre diameter. The church itself carries only a low, square turret above one of its chapels, which is why the town built a dedicated tower on the square to hold its heavy bells.

Frequently asked questions

How old is the Church of St. Bartholomew in Rakovník? Its oldest surviving parts date to the third quarter of the 14th century, when the church was rebuilt after a fire with financial support from Charles IV. The Gothic look it has today comes from Josef Mocker's restoration of 1885–1896.

Is the bell tower part of the church building? No — it's a separate, freestanding structure from 1495, built to house two large bells, "Bartoloměj" and "Václav." Church and tower together form one protected heritage complex on the square.

What's the highlight of the interior? Matyáš Rejsek's carved stone pulpit from 1504, and a rare surviving Gothic fresco cycle from around 1400 showing the martyrdom of St. Bartholomew and the story of St. Dorothy.

Where exactly is the church located? On Husovo náměstí in the centre of Rakovník, in the Central Bohemian Region, within the Rakovník District.