Church of Saint Mary Magdalene

The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene is the deanery church of Benátky nad Jizerou, a small town in Central Bohemia, Czech Republic. Built in the late Gothic style near the town's former fortification walls, it stands close to Husovo náměstí and has served as the town's main parish church for centuries.

How old is the church, and who built it?

The current stone church dates from the second half of the 16th century, built around 1561–1570 (some sources place it as late as 1590) at the expense of Henry of Donín. It replaced an earlier wooden chapel dedicated to the same saint, erected in 1485 during the post-Hussite period. That earlier chapel already carried the dedication to Saint Mary Magdalene that the present-day church continues.

What happened to it over the centuries?

Like much of the region, the church did not escape the turmoil of the Thirty Years' War, which left the building devastated and stripped of its liturgical furnishings for a long period afterward. A second blow came with a town fire in 1664, which caused serious damage. The subsequent rebuilding gave the church its present Baroque appearance: a new Baroque facade was added, and the structure as a whole was reworked in the Baroque style. As a result, today's building combines a late Gothic core with a clearly visible Baroque overlay from the 17th-century reconstruction.

What is worth seeing inside?

The interior furnishings are predominantly Baroque and Rococo, reflecting the post-fire rebuilding. The centerpiece is a Rococo main altar made by M. Grüm in 1760. It holds a painting of the church's patron saint that has sometimes — though not with certainty — been attributed to Petr Brandl, one of the leading painters of Czech Baroque art. Among the church's most valuable objects is a tin baptismal font dated 1489, made by the masters Jiljí and Matěj of Nové Město pražské. Predating the current stone building itself, the font was most likely brought over from the earlier wooden chapel on the same site.

Which parish does it belong to today?

The church remains the parish church of the Roman Catholic Parish of Benátky nad Jizerou, part of the Stará Boleslav deanery. It continues to function as an active place of worship and as the town's principal church.

Where exactly is it located?

The church stands in Benátky nad Jizerou, in Central Bohemia, near Husovo náměstí, along the line of the town's former defensive walls. Its approximate coordinates are 50.2928 N, 14.8249 E.

Frequently asked questions

Is the church a protected heritage monument? Yes, the building and its immediate surroundings are listed among the protected municipal monuments of Benátky nad Jizerou.

What architectural style is the church built in? Its core dates from the late Gothic period (16th century), while the facade and much of the interior decoration come from the Baroque reconstruction after the 1664 fire, and the main altar is Rococo (1760).

Was the altar painting really made by Petr Brandl? Brandl's authorship is sometimes mentioned in sources, but it is not certain — the attribution remains debated.

What is the oldest item inside the church? The tin baptismal font from 1489, made by Jiljí and Matěj of Nové Město pražské, which predates the current stone church building itself.