Church of Saint Blaise in Plánice

The Church of Saint Blaise in Plánice is the deanery parish church standing at the heart of a small town in the Plzeň Region of southwestern Czechia, close to the Šumava foothills. The present Baroque building dates from the mid-18th century, but the history of a church on this site reaches back considerably further.

How old is the church in Plánice?

The earliest written record of a church in Plánice dates from 1352. That original building is believed to have been Gothic in style. Over time it was replaced, and a new, brick-built Baroque church rose on the same site. Construction was completed in 1755, and the building has kept its present architectural form ever since.

Who designed the Baroque church?

The authorship of the design is not conclusively documented. Some researchers suggest the plans may have been drawn up by Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer, one of the leading architects of Czech Baroque, who was active in the first half of the 18th century on the nearby church in Nicov. His direct involvement in the Plánice building, however, has not been confirmed by surviving records, and the attribution remains a matter of scholarly debate.

What does the church look like?

The building is a modest example of High Baroque sacred architecture. It is a single-nave church with a tower set into the west facade, forming the dominant vertical accent of the structure. A distinctive feature is its mansard roof, unusual among the smaller parish churches of the surrounding countryside, which gives the building a more representative, formal appearance. The presbytery is nearly square in plan and closed by an apse, with a sacristy attached on the exterior.

What is known about the church bells?

Until the First World War, the tower held as many as four bells — a notable number for a parish of this size. The largest, 90 cm tall with a diameter of 115 cm, was cast in 1558, long before the current Baroque church was built, meaning it had originally belonged to the older church on the site. The second bell, known as the noon bell, was similar in size — 90 cm tall and 105 cm in diameter — and was cast in 1759, shortly after the present church was completed. The third, smaller bell dated from 1606, while the smallest of the four, just 28 cm tall with a 36 cm diameter, was cast in 1580. This mix of bells from different centuries shows that the tower's set of bells was assembled gradually, combining pieces from the older Gothic-era church with ones cast after the Baroque rebuilding.

Who is the church dedicated to?

The church's patron is Saint Blaise, a bishop and martyr who died in Armenia in 316. Devotion to Saint Blaise was widespread across Central Europe, and churches dedicated to him frequently served as local parish centers — as is still the case in Plánice, where the building remains an active deanery church.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the church located? In the center of Plánice, a small town in the Plzeň Region of Czechia, near the Šumava area.

How old is the current building? The present Baroque church was completed in 1755, though the first record of a church on this site dates back to 1352.

Have the historic bells survived? Until World War I the tower held four bells cast between 1558 and 1759, with the oldest predating the current Baroque building.

Who was Saint Blaise? A bishop and martyr who died in 316 in Armenia; devotion to him was popular throughout Central Europe.