Church of Saint Catherine of Siena

The Church of St. Catherine of Siena in Lidečko is a Baroque church standing at the heart of this Wallachian village in the Zlín Region of Czechia, and it is the oldest and most recognizable landmark in a settlement first documented in writing back in 1424. The church rises above the surrounding houses and has served as a visual anchor for the Senice river valley for centuries.

How old is the church building itself?

A first church on this site was consecrated in 1511, but it did not survive — it was destroyed during Tatar raids that swept through the Wallachia region in the 17th century. The current Baroque church was built in its place in 1700. Its tower, however, took much longer to complete: it was only finished in 1731, a full 31 years after the main body of the church was raised.

What is notable about the bells?

The tower still holds three protected historic bells cast in 1665, measuring 78, 44 and 43 centimetres across. Since they predate the present church building by 35 years, they must have survived the destruction of the earlier church. The set of bells was later expanded twice: five new bells were purchased in 1949, and four more were added in 2006.

What does the church look like architecturally?

The building follows the Late Baroque style. It has a single-nave, oriented layout, with a narrower recessed chancel and a bell tower set into the western front. This arrangement was typical of rural parish churches built in Moravia around the turn of the 18th century.

How has the church changed over the 20th and 21st centuries?

The building underwent several rounds of modernisation. In 1945 it was electrified and its main altar was repaired, and in 1948 a new organ was installed. In 2006 the staircase leading up the tower was replaced, and in 2008 the church underwent a thorough reconstruction of the main altar and floors, which included installing gas underfloor heating.

Why is restoring the church difficult today?

The building is currently in poor structural condition and needs urgent repair work, but the renovation faces an unusual obstacle: a protected colony of bats lives in the church attic. Because of this, nature conservation authorities have had the site declared a protected area, which complicates and slows down any planned restoration work.

Where exactly is the church located?

The church stands in the centre of the village of Lidečko, in the Senice river valley surrounded by the hills of Wallachia, not far from the site of the former, now-vanished settlement of Lomná.

Frequently asked questions

Which saint is the church dedicated to? It is dedicated to St. Catherine of Siena.

Is the current building the first church on this spot? No — an earlier church was consecrated in 1511 but was destroyed by Tatar raids in the 17th century; the present church was built in 1700.

Was the tower built at the same time as the rest of the church? No, the tower was only completed in 1731, 31 years after the main body of the church.

What is the biggest obstacle to renovating the church? A protected bat colony living in the attic, which led to the site being placed under nature conservation protection.

Does anything survive from before the 1700 rebuild? Yes — three bells cast in 1665, older than the current church building.