Church of Saint Mary Magdalene

The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Liberec, also known as the Jubilee Church, stands on the border of the Nové Město and Jeřáb districts, on Jungmannova Street. It is one of the city's most distinctive — and most troubled — sacred buildings: a grand Neo-Baroque structure with Art Nouveau touches that has been waiting for a completed restoration for more than a decade.

Why is it called the Jubilee Church?

Construction was planned in 1908, the year marking the sixtieth anniversary of the reign of Emperor Franz Joseph I, which is why the building is popularly known as the Jubilee Church. The project was initiated by Baroness Marie Pauline von Liebieg, a member of one of Liberec's most prominent textile-manufacturing families. Building work ran from 1908 to 1911, with the new church replacing an earlier Capuchin church that had stood on the same site.

What does the church's architecture look like?

The building follows a Neo-Baroque style with clear Art Nouveau influences, characteristic of Central European architecture at the turn of the 20th century. The spacious, vaulted nave measures 28 meters in length and 20 meters in width, closing at the southeastern end with a semicircular presbytery flanked by two sacristies. Structurally, the church was ahead of its time: its vaults are made of shell concrete suspended on a distinctive steel roof frame, and the floor was fitted with a duct-based heating system — an unusual feature for a religious building of that era.

What was discovered inside the tower?

During inventory and inspection work, a tube was found hidden inside the church tower, where it had lain undisturbed for nearly a hundred years — effectively a time capsule from the building's construction period. The find underscored just how long the structure had gone without serious conservation work, and drew attention back to its rich, often-overlooked history.

What happened to the church during the 20th century?

The church originally belonged to a Capuchin monastery. Under socialism, the adjoining monastery building was converted into a kindergarten, while the church itself was used as storage space, accelerating its physical decline. It has been listed as a cultural monument since 1966, though this protection did not stop the building from deteriorating further over the following decades.

Why was the restoration never finished?

In 2011, the derelict church was acquired by the company Iberus. Five years later, in 2016, the organization GEPO began a reconstruction financed through EU grants, with an estimated budget of 64 million Czech crowns, of which 56 million was to come from European funding. An investigation later revealed that the actual cost of the work had been artificially inflated — the real amount needed was closer to 39 million crowns — and that the organization had not actually been carrying out the declared work. Following suspicions of grant fraud, the reconstruction was halted, and the building remains in a preserved, unfinished state to this day.

Frequently asked questions

When was the Church of Saint Mary Magdalene in Liberec built? It was built between 1908 and 1911, timed to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of Emperor Franz Joseph I's reign.

Why is the church called the Jubilee Church? The name refers to the imperial jubilee that coincided with the start of construction.

Is the church currently open? No — the building is undergoing an unfinished reconstruction that began in 2016 and was halted amid suspicions of financial irregularities linked to EU grant funding.

What was found in the church tower? A tube hidden for nearly a century was discovered inside the tower, serving as a kind of time capsule from the building's construction era.

Is the church a protected monument? Yes, it has been listed as a cultural monument since 1966.