Church of Saint Margaret

The Church of Saint Margaret stands in Radenín, a small village in South Bohemia, right beside a former Gothic fortress that shares its history and site with the church. It's a single-nave building with a pentagonally closed presbytery and a 31-metre tower on the north side — a compact stop that packs several centuries of rebuilding into one small footprint, worth combining with a visit to the neighbouring fortress if you're exploring the Tábor region.

How old is the church?

The earliest written record dates to 1369 (some sources say 1384), when the building functioned as a filial church subordinate to the parish in Choustník. By the early 15th century it already had lay patrons: in 1405, Kunrat of Tučapy and Petr of Radenín are named as patrons, showing how closely the church was tied to local nobility. That changed in 1758, when Countess Marie Theresie Kolowrat Krakowská endowed an independent parish benefice and the church passed under the jurisdiction of Hroby.

What does the architecture show today?

The building carries visible layers from different eras. In the 16th century the Smrček family of Mnich carried out a major expansion, and the interior still mixes Renaissance elements from that period with later Baroque additions. The vaults are cross-ribbed, the windows closed with round arches. On the south side, an octagonal Baroque chapel of St. Barbara was added in 1732, funded by Count Ferdinand Magnus des Fours — domed and decorated with frescoes depicting the Four Last Things and the parable of the Ten Virgins. Later owners of the Radenín estate — the des Fours, Czernin of Chudenice, and Baillet de Latour families — kept financing conservation work into the 20th century.

What's worth seeing inside?

The church still holds a bell cast in 1610, one of the few in the region to survive wartime metal requisitions. There's also an organ from the early 18th century, paintings of St. Margaret and the Holy Family, and noble tombstones from the 16th and 17th centuries that record the local aristocracy's role as patrons. A curiosity kept in the church is a relic described as a nail similar to the holy nails touched to the cross in Rome.

Is the church still maintained?

Restoration work has continued without interruption since the end of World War II. The tower's facade was repainted in 2005, and the historic organ was repaired using conservation funds. The church remains an active place of worship and a piece of local heritage, closely tied to the adjacent fortress in Radenín.

Frequently asked questions

How old is the Church of Saint Margaret in Radenín? The first record dates to 1369 or 1384, though the current structure mostly reflects rebuilding from the 16th to 18th centuries.

What is the annex on the south side of the church? It's an octagonal Baroque chapel of St. Barbara from 1732, funded by Count Ferdinand Magnus des Fours, topped with a dome and decorated with frescoes.

Are there any historic items worth seeing inside? Yes — a bell from 1610, an early 18th-century organ, paintings of St. Margaret and the Holy Family, and noble tombstones from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Is the church located near other historic sites? Yes, it stands directly next to the former Gothic fortress in Radenín, forming a single historical complex with it.