Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary in Duchcov

The Church of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary in Duchcov is a Baroque landmark standing at the southwestern corner of Republic Square, right in the heart of this small Czech town. Its twin towers still dominate the square's skyline, even though the interior behind its walls has stood empty for decades — the result of a fire that erased centuries of craftsmanship in a single night.

What stood here before the Baroque church?

The current building isn't the town's first church on this spot. A Renaissance-era church from 1587 once stood here, and before that, an early Gothic place of worship. When the present church went up, builders reused stone from these earlier structures, so the walls literally carry Duchcov's older history inside them.

Construction of today's church was commissioned in 1696 by Arnošt Josef of Valdštejn, a member of the noble family that controlled Duchcov and its castle at the time. Builder Marek Antonín Canevalle led the initial work and had much of the structure standing by 1707. The project then passed to another architect, František Maxmilián Kaňka, who completed the building in 1721. The church was consecrated the following year, on September 12, 1722.

What did the interior once look like?

Before its destruction, the church held work by some of Bohemia's most celebrated Baroque artists. Paintings came from Václav Vavřinec Reiner, one of the era's leading Czech painters, while the life-size wooden sculptures were carved by Matyáš Bernard Braun, whose work still graces churches and chateaux across the country today. Among the pieces lost was a late-Gothic altar painting of the Annunciation dated to 1720.

That entire interior was destroyed on May 10, 1945, when Soviet troops set the church ablaze. The fire consumed nearly all of the Baroque furnishings that had survived until then — an earlier renovation in 1826 had kept the building in good shape, but nothing could undo the scale of the 1945 fire.

Can visitors see the church today?

The building has been protected as a Czech cultural monument since 1958. Although its interior remains gutted, the church hasn't been abandoned entirely — it occasionally hosts art exhibitions and, on occasion, theatrical performances. Once a year, on Christmas Eve, a Mass is held inside, a brief return to the building's original purpose.

Duchcov itself is best known for its castle, where the Venetian adventurer and writer Giacomo Casanova spent his final years working as a librarian. The church stands just a few hundred meters from the castle grounds, making it an easy stop for anyone tracing Casanova's footsteps through the town's historic center.

Frequently asked questions

Can you go inside the church? The interior is generally closed to visitors, opening only occasionally for exhibitions, cultural events, and the annual Christmas Eve Mass.

Why is the interior empty? A fire set by Soviet troops on May 10, 1945, destroyed nearly all of the church's Baroque furnishings, including sculptures by Matyáš Bernard Braun and paintings by Václav Vavřinec Reiner.

Who built the church? Marek Antonín Canevalle began construction in 1696 for patron Arnošt Josef of Valdštejn, and František Maxmilián Kaňka completed it in 1721.

What else is worth seeing nearby? Duchcov Castle lies just a few hundred meters away — the place where Giacomo Casanova spent his last years — making it easy to combine both sites in one walk through the town center.